The Wattenbach or ''Wattenerbach'' is a river of

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, a tributary of the

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

. The Wattenbach has its origin in the

Tux Prealps The Tux Alps (german: Tuxer Alpen) or Tux Prealps (''Tuxer Voralpen'') are a sub-group of the Austrian Central Alps, which in turn form part of the Eastern Alps within Central Europe. They are located entirely within the Austrian federal state of ...

. The rivers

Mölsbach Lake Moels (german: Mölssee) is a lake of Tyrol, Austria. It can be found at the upper part of the Wattental valley at a height of 2,240 metres. With an area of , it is one larger lakes in the area. The lake can be reached by following the road ...

and Lizumbach merge in the valley bottom near at a height of thus forming the origin of the Wattenbach. It then flows from the

Wattentaler Lizum {{Coord, 47, 10, 21, N, 11, 38, 16, E, region:AT-7_type:landmark, display=title The Wattentaler Lizum (locally also Wattener Lizum) is the name of the head of the Wattental valley which branches off the lower Inn valley near Wattens. ''Lizum'' mean ...

almost due north through the

Wattental The Wattental is a southern side valley of the Inn valley. The valley, through which the Wattenbach stream flows, is incised deeply into the quartz-phyllite rock of the Tux Prealps. The two dispersed settlements of Wattenberg and Vögelsberg ( ...

valley. After it empties near

Wattens Wattens is a market town of the Innsbruck-Land District in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It is chiefly known as home of the Swarovski crystal glass company. Geography Wattens is located in the Lower Inn Valley of North Tyrol, about east of Innsbr ...

into the Inn.

Water quality

Until the river reaches Wattens the water has grade A quality. The small village Wattenberg diverts their wastewater into the sewage works of

Fritzens Fritzens is a municipality in the district Innsbruck country in Tyrol (Austria). It lies 16 km east of Innsbruck on the left side of the Inn River. The Iron Age Fritzens-Sanzeno culture The Fritzens-Sanzeno culture is an archaeological cultu ...

. The water of the Wattenbach is used by the companies

Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Austria, and has existed as a family-owned business since its founding in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal ...

and . Although the water is cleaned through several sewage treatment plants the Inn suffers from the polluted water. Only the heavy metal pollution could be reduced strongly. Several constructed defence structures have also successfully been avoiding high water.

Usage

Nine power plants use the water furthermore intensively and the water also is used by industry facilities. Therefore, sometimes very little water runs and the brook is threatened by

desiccation Desiccation () is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. A desiccant is a hygroscopic (attracts and holds water) substance that induces or sustains such a state in its local vicinity in a moderately sealed container. ...

References

Rivers of Tyrol (state) Rivers of Austria {{Tyrol-geo-stub