Even around the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, it was apparent that the local water resources would no longer be sufficient to meet the rapidly increasing demand for water with advancing industrialisation and the associated rapid population growth in the central Neckar region. An exceptionally foresighted plan for that time provided for the transport of drinking water through a long-distance pipeline from the Danube valley near Ulm via Remstal to the residence city of Stuttgart. This laid the foundation for the Landeswasserversorgung.
In Baden-Württemberg, water-rich areas along the Danube, Rhine and Lake Constance are contrasted with water-poor regions in Swabian Alb and the central Neckar region. The remote water supply systems create the balance.
For over 100 years, water from Donauried has also flowed from fountains and taps in Stuttgart.