About DVGW energie | wasser-praxis

DVGW energie | wasser-praxis

DVGW energie | wasser-praxis is the leading trade journal of the German gas and water industry and the official organ of the DVGW Deutscher Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches e.V. in Bonn. Published eleven times a year by the wvgw Wirtschafts- und Verlagsgesellschaft Gas und Wasser mbH, it reaches around 14,500 copies per issue and an estimated 57,000 readers across utilities, network operators, engineering firms, and public authorities. With practice-oriented technical articles, current industry news, and special editions on topics such as nitrate in groundwater, it is the central information medium for everyone working in gas supply and water management in Germany.

Overview

DVGW energie | wasser-praxis (ISSN 1436-6134) serves the two supply sectors overseen by its publisher association: gas — including natural gas, biomethane, and increasingly hydrogen — and drinking water, from resource protection through treatment and distribution. The journal appears eleven times a year and, according to IVW-audited figures for the second quarter of 2022, prints 14,500 copies per issue with 14,323 copies actually distributed, of which 12,887 are subscriptions — including 12,651 subscriptions held by DVGW members. A 2019 reader survey found an average of four readers per copy, yielding a reach of approximately 57,000 readers per issue, which makes the title the highest-circulation specialist journal in the German gas and water field.

The readership consists of engineers, technicians, and managers at municipal utilities (Stadtwerke), regional and national gas network operators, water suppliers, pipeline construction companies, engineering consultancies, manufacturers of pipes, fittings, and measurement technology, as well as officials in water and environmental authorities. Content combines current industry news with practice-oriented technical contributions: network operation, maintenance and rehabilitation, measurement and regulation technology, water treatment, resource and climate protection, occupational safety, and the evolving regulatory framework for gas and water.

The journal also publishes special compact editions — such as the "ewp kompakt" issue on nitrate in groundwater, covering cooperation with agriculture, UBA studies on prevention versus remediation, and nitrate-removal technologies — which serve as focused reference publications on pressing sector topics. As the official organ of the DVGW, the journal additionally carries association news, information on the DVGW's technical rulebook (Regelwerk), and announcements for the association's events, including the gat | wat congress, the industry's leading annual gathering.

History

DVGW energie | wasser-praxis is published as the official organ of the DVGW Deutscher Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches e.V., the technical-scientific association of the German gas and water industry based at Josef-Wirmer-Straße 1–3 in Bonn. The association itself traces its roots to the 19th century, and its publishing activities have long included specialist journals serving the gas and water professions. The current title, uniting the energy (gas) and water-practice strands under one masthead, reflects the organizational reality of the modern utility sector, where many municipal and regional suppliers operate gas and water networks side by side.

Publishing and distribution are handled by the wvgw Wirtschafts- und Verlagsgesellschaft Gas und Wasser mbH, the association's own publishing company at Josef-Wirmer-Straße 3 in Bonn, led by managing director Stephan Maul. The wvgw also publishes related titles such as "bbr Berufswelten Energie & Wasser" and operates the association's media services, including the mein-regelwerk.de portal for access to the DVGW's technical rules. This integrated structure — association as publisher, dedicated publishing company as producer — is characteristic of German technical-scientific associations and ensures the journal's close alignment with the industry's standardization and training work.

Over the years, the journal's thematic focus has shifted with the sector's challenges: from the expansion of natural-gas networks and the liberalization of energy markets to the energy transition (Energiewende), the prospective role of hydrogen in gas grids, climate adaptation in water supply, and the protection of groundwater resources against nitrate and micropollutant contamination. The editorial leadership has included Prof. Dr. Gerald Linke as Schriftleiter (editorial director) and Marcel Pannes as Chefredakteur (editor-in-chief), with Heike Gruber previously serving in the chief editorial role.

Coverage and Content

The journal's content program mirrors the technical breadth of the gas and water industries. On the gas side, coverage includes network operation and integrity, pipeline construction and rehabilitation, odorization, pressure regulation and measurement, gas quality and the admixture of biomethane and hydrogen, and the regulatory framework of the energy transition. On the water side, topics range from water-resource protection and catchment management through treatment technologies, distribution-network maintenance, leakage detection, and drinking-water hygiene to the digitalization of water utilities.

Practice orientation is the editorial hallmark: articles are written for professionals who plan, build, operate, and maintain supply infrastructure, with an emphasis on applicable knowledge rather than pure research. Regulatory and association topics — new DVGW technical rules, changes in legislation, occupational-safety requirements — receive thorough treatment, as do reports from the industry's events and working groups. The "ewp kompakt" special editions take a single pressing issue, such as nitrate contamination of groundwater, and treat it in depth across some two dozen pages, with contributions from association experts and practitioners.

Industry news rounds out the program: company announcements, personnel changes, product developments, and event previews and reviews. The journal's advertising pages serve the supplier industry — pipe and fitting manufacturers, measurement-technology providers, engineering firms — making each issue a marketplace as well as an information source. The combination of technical substance, association communication, and industry news gives the journal its central position in the sector's information ecosystem.

Organization and Ownership

The publisher (Herausgeber) of DVGW energie | wasser-praxis is the DVGW Deutscher Verein des Gas- und Wasserfaches e.V., the technical-scientific association of the German gas and water industry, Josef-Wirmer-Straße 1–3, 53123 Bonn (telephone 0228 9188-5, info@dvgw.de). Publishing and distribution are the responsibility of the wvgw Wirtschafts- und Verlagsgesellschaft Gas und Wasser mbH, Josef-Wirmer-Straße 3, 53123 Bonn (telephone 0228 9191-40, info@wvgw.de), the association's publishing subsidiary, whose managing director is Stephan Maul.

Editorial leadership comprises Prof. Dr. Gerald Linke as Schriftleiter and Marcel Pannes as Chefredakteur (contact pannes@wvgw.de). The wvgw's broader business includes the development of specialist publications, brochures, and promotional materials, corporate marketing support, and event management for seminars, workshops, and trade-fair appearances — a full-service media operation for the energy and water sectors. The journal is financed through subscriptions — dominated by DVGW member subscriptions — and advertising; a full-page four-color advertisement was priced at 5,265 euros in the 2023 media data. Annual subscriptions were listed from around 63 euros.

Digital Presence

The journal's digital home is energie-wasser-praxis.de, described as the knowledge portal for gas and water, where current articles, news, and issue archives are presented. The site extends the print journal's reach with online news and serves as the access point for digital subscriptions and the e-paper edition. Through the wvgw's digital infrastructure, readers can also access the DVGW's technical rulebook via mein-regelwerk.de, linking the journal's editorial content directly to the association's standardization work.

The publisher's media data and advertising information are distributed digitally, and the journal's content is discoverable through specialist booksellers' journal databases such as schweitzer-online.de. For a B2B audience of utility engineers and managers, the digital offering complements rather than replaces the print edition: the IVW-audited print circulation remains the core of the business, while the website provides timeliness between the eleven annual issues. The journal does not maintain a prominent independent social-media presence in the accessible sources; its digital identity is anchored in the energie-wasser-praxis.de portal and the DVGW association's online ecosystem.