Wasserverbund Region Bern AG

What Wasserverbund Region Bern AG does

Wasserverbund Region Bern AG (WVRB AG) is a Swiss regional water utility company founded on April 17, 1974, and headquartered in Bern, Switzerland. Structured as an Aktiengesellschaft (public limited company) under Swiss law and owned by 23 municipal shareholders, WVRB AG supplies drinking, utility, and firefighting water to approximately 290,000 inhabitants across the Canton of Bern. The company operates the Primärsystem — the primary water supply infrastructure comprising extraction, pumping, reservoirs, and main transport pipelines — while its shareholder municipalities operate the secondary distribution network to end consumers. Non-shareholder entities, including Energy Belp AG, Köniz, Mühleberg, Münsingen, and Tierpark Bern, receive water under standardized water supply contracts.

WVRB AG's core technical asset is an integrated water supply network comprising six groundwater extraction facilities (combined licensed capacity of approximately 139,100 l/min across Aeschau, Belpau, Kiesen, Oberi Au Uttigen, Wehrliau, and Mattstetten), multiple spring sources (Frienisberg, Lochmatt Wohlen, Wannental Urtenen, Wichtrach), 30 reservoirs with approximately 28,000 m³ total storage capacity, 28 pumping stations, and approximately 280 kilometers of transport pipelines. Notable recent infrastructure includes the new Reservoir Mannenberg — the largest drinking water reservoir in the Canton of Bern inaugurated in October 2025 — and the Oberi Au Uttigen horizontal filter well (25,000 l/min) commissioned in June 2023. Water from the Emmental valley flows by gravity to Bern, reducing energy input. Quality control employs flow cytometry for total bacterial fingerprinting, camera-based fish behavior monitoring, and UV-C primary disinfection; the company analyzes over 14,000 chemical, 9,000 microbiological, and 6,000 special parameters annually. A centralized process control system (Leitsystem) enables automated distribution optimization, and the Regelpooling program coordinates reservoir filling with low electricity prices while the Schönau turbine generates electricity during peak prices.

The company's revenue model is hybrid subscription-plus-consumption: shareholders and non-shareholders pay an annual flat-rate charge based on reserved contracted capacity plus a per-cubic-meter consumption fee. Specific pricing is governed by individual water supply contracts and is not publicly disclosed. The company operates with approximately 15 employees. The customer base has expanded steadily through new municipal shareholder additions, most recently with the integration of former WAGRA shareholders on January 1, 2025, and the company is actively executing pipeline and reservoir projects to meet projected demand growth of approximately 90,000 additional people by 2055.

Name

Wasserverbund Region Bern AG

Legal name

Wasserverbund Region Bern AG

Website

https://wvrb.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Wasserverbund Region Bern AG is a Swiss regional water utility operating the primary drinking water infrastructure — including 6 groundwater wells, 30 reservoirs, and approximately 280 km of pipelines — for 23 municipal shareholders serving approximately 290,000 inhabitants in the Canton of Bern.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Raw Water Conveyance & Transmission (Aqueducts, Mains, Pumping Stations) (EUANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Water Sourcing & Abstraction (Surface Water, Groundwater, Intake Works) (EUANAAAA)

Keywords

• Drinking water supply
• Water utility services
• Municipal water infrastructure
• Groundwater extraction
• Water pipeline network

Headquarters

HQ city

Bern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Water supply to shareholders: The company supplies drinking, utility, and firefighting water to its 23 shareholder municipalities. Billing is based on reserved capacity (flat annual rate) plus consumption-based charges per cubic meter. Shareholders transferred their primary facilities to WVRB AG ownership in exchange for water delivery rights.
2. Water supply contracts with non-shareholders: Water delivery to non-shareholder municipalities (Energy Belp AG, Köniz, Mühleberg, Münsingen, Tierpark Bern, WAGRA until end of 2024) under standardized water supply contracts. Annual flat-rate billing based on reserved capacity plus consumption-based charges per cubic meter.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wasserverbund Region Bern AG operates the primary drinking water supply system (Primärsystem) for the Bern region in Switzerland. The company extracts groundwater and spring water from six wells and multiple springs, treats it minimally with UV-C disinfection, stores it in 30 reservoirs, and transports it through approximately 280 km of pipelines to 23 shareholder municipalities and additional contract customers, serving approximately 290,000 inhabitants with about 23.8 million m³ of water annually.

Product overview

Wasserverbund Region Bern AG operates as a regional water supply company managing the primary drinking water infrastructure for 23 shareholder municipalities in the Bern region, serving approximately 290,000 to 300,000 people. The company's core product is its integrated Primärsystem (primary system) comprising six groundwater extraction facilities, multiple spring sources, 30 reservoirs (approximately 28,000 m³ total capacity), 28 pumping stations, and about 280 kilometers of transport pipelines. Water from the Emmental valley flows naturally to Bern without pumping due to elevation, while Aare valley groundwater requires pumping via stations at Schönau and Belpau. The company provides water supply contracts to non-shareholder municipalities and runs public awareness campaigns like TrinkWasser! for its 50th anniversary.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primärsystem (Primary Water Supply System) Integrated primary drinking water infrastructure for 23 shareholder municipalities in the Bern region, comprising groundwater extraction, treatment, storage, and transport to delivery points. Supplies drinking, utility, and firefighting water to approximately 290,000 inhabitants with about 23.8 million m³ annually.
• Wasserlieferverträge (Water Supply Contracts) Standardized water supply contracts with non-shareholder municipalities and entities (including Energie Belp AG, Köniz, Mühleberg, Münsingen, Tierpark Bern) for supplementary drinking water delivery, billed via annual flat-rate based on reserved capacity plus consumption-based charges per m³.
• Grundwasserfassung Oberi Au Uttigen (Oberi Au Groundwater Extraction Facility) Horizontal filter groundwater extraction well in Uttigen with a capacity of 25,000 liters per minute, jointly operated with WARET AG. Built on land owned by armasuisse (Swiss Confederation), providing additional water source capacity to the regional supply network.
• Reservoir Mannenberg The largest drinking water reservoir in the Canton of Bern with 28,000 m³ capacity, serving approximately 300,000 people. Part of the Mannenberg storage complex providing critical supply security for the regional network.

Quantifiable outcome

• The company supplies approximately 290,000 inhabitants with drinking water daily.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Infrawatt, Alpiq (and other partners)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016WVRB AG participates in the Swiss Federal Office of Energy's 'Leuchtturmprojekt Regelpooling' program with partners including Infrawatt and Alpiq. Water reservoirs are traditionally filled during night hours. Through intelligent management, the filling schedule is coordinated with electricity market conditions — reservoirs are filled when electricity prices are low and turbines generate electricity when prices are high. This contributes to the energy transition without subsidies.
• Energie Wasser Bern (ewb)coreStrategic or Co-development Partnerewb is the largest shareholder of WVRB AG, representing the City of Bern. They collaborate on energy management (Regelpooling) using the turbine at the Schönau pumping station. ewb also provides emergency power generation capacity at the Schönau or Belpau pumping stations, capable of covering average daily consumption.
• WARET AG (Wasserversorgung Region Thun AG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWVRB AG and WARET AG jointly operate the Amerikaegge groundwater facility near Uttigen/Uetendorf. WVRB AG is the landowner, and WARET AG built and operates the facility (25,000 l/min capacity), with WVRB AG receiving minimum 6,000 l/min. The Oberi Au Uttigen facility was also built under WARET AG leadership with joint utilization (19,000 l/min WARET, 6,000 l/min WVRB AG).
• armsuisse (Swiss Federal Office for Buildings and Logistics)minorOthersWVRB AG entered into an agreement with armasuisse as the landowner for the construction of the Oberi Au groundwater well on armasuisse property in Uttigen. The new well was built on land owned by the Swiss Confederation.
• Kanton Bern (Amt für Wasser und Abfall)coreOthersThe Canton of Bern's Office for Water and Wastewater (AWA) is the regulatory authority that grants water extraction concessions to WVRB AG. The canton coordinates flood protection projects (e.g., 'aarewasser') that intersect with WVRB AG's water extraction zones. WVRB AG has filed objections to some canton projects that would affect its water sources.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• WARET AG (Wasserversorgung Region Thun AG): Regional water utility serving the Thun area adjacent to WVRB's catchment, jointly operating the Amerikaegge and Oberi Au groundwater facilities with WVRB. Closest structural peer given shared extraction assets, comparable groundwater-fed model, and overlapping supply area in Canton of Bern.

Broad incumbents

• Energie Wasser Bern (ewb): Largest single shareholder of WVRB and operator of the secondary distribution network for the City of Bern. Comparable as a Swiss municipal multi-utility with regulated water supply, energy generation (including the Schönau turbine used for Regelpooling), and emergency-power provision for WVRB infrastructure.
• Services Industriels de Genève (SIG): Public multi-utility serving the Geneva region with regulated water, gas, electricity, and thermal services. Comparable as a Swiss municipal utility with regulated water supply operations across a large urban cantonal customer base.
• Industrielle Werke Basel (IWB): Municipal multi-utility of the Canton of Basel-Stadt providing water, electricity, heating, and telecom. Comparable to WVRB as a publicly owned Swiss utility focused on reliable urban water supply with infrastructure-driven service obligations.
• Wasserversorgung Zürich: Regional water utility serving the City and Canton of Zürich with a multi-municipal supply model. Comparable to WVRB as a major Swiss primary-system water supplier with groundwater/surface-water sources and large pipeline infrastructure.
• Stadtwerke München (SWM / Münchner Stadtwerke): Large European municipal multi-utility with regulated water supply, energy, and public-transport operations. Comparable in business model (municipal ownership, regulated returns, infrastructure-heavy capex) and in scale of urban water customers, providing a cross-border reference for asset-heavy water-utility economics.
• Wiener Wasser (City of Vienna Water): Municipal water utility of the City of Vienna, supplying high-quality spring-fed drinking water to ~2 million inhabitants. Comparable to WVRB in scale (population served), public-ownership structure, emphasis on source-water quality, and primary/secondary network separation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wasserverbund Region Bern AG