The areas are presented in the maximum extent that they were used for sewage treatment. Only areas specially prepared for sewage treatment use are included. The former sewage farms are grouped into 20 sewage farm districts, following the system of the Berlin Waterworks (BWB). Two smaller sites used for field treatment of sewage, i.e. Anstalt Dalldorf (former psychiatric clinic) and Strafgefängnis Plötzensee (prison) are added to the 20 official sewage farm districts.
The period of use is given next to the name of each site. It is important to note that not all sections were used for waste water treatment from the beginning of operation, or during the entire period of operation.
The city of Berlin acquired a further 11,000 ha of natural land in the course of establishing the sewage farms, in addition to the areas already prepared for waste water treatment. These areas were earmarked for future expansion, but were never prepared or used for treatment. These areas, which are presented on various overview maps, were not considered here.
For sewage farms that remained operational until 1998 or 2010, a distinction is made between the mechanical treatment of infiltrating waste water in sedimentation tanks; and the mechanical and biological treatment of infiltrating waste water in clarification plants. The date of closure is indicated for all sewage farms. Based on the available map material, seven periods of closure may be distinguished.
The location of the sludge sedimentation basins and sludge drying areas established as part of the standard sewage farm operation is not depicted true to scale. The locations provided are based on information from the 1960s. Only areas surrounding the Karolinenhöhe sewage farm that were established at a later date were added retrospectively. The intensive filtration areas have also been included.
Within the sewage farms presented, further sections are indicated that were used for waste water treatment after the sewage farm was closed, mostly as part of the operations of the sewage treatment plants linked to them. The type of use is colour-coded or indicated in the description of the area. These include the abandoned or currently still used clarification plant sludge storage areas and clarification plant sludge composting areas. At the former Münchehofe sewage farm, agricultural land was irrigated via pipelines with clarification sludge mixed with clear water for fertilisation purposes until 1985. Fining ponds were established in some areas as settling tanks for follow-up purification of clarification plant outflows. Iron-manganese sludge resulting from drinking water preparation was also stored.
The boundaries of the sewage farms were digitised using georeferenced scans of the WAB sewage farm maps, the DTM1 for Berlin and Brandenburg, and aerial photography data from 1928, 1953 and 2021.