Dortmund in the water chaos: City plans pumping campaign for flooded area!

Dortmund in the water chaos: City plans pumping campaign for flooded area!

In the Wickeder Ostholz nature reserve in Dortmund, the extreme rainfall of the past two years has formed a small lake, which is both an ecological challenge and a danger to adjacent houses. According to [Ruhr24], the German Weather Service has classified this period as the most precipitation since the beginning of the weather records in 1881. The water accumulation, which results from rain and groundwater, puts the building fabric of the surrounding houses under pressure and forces the city to act.

As part of the measures, the city of Dortmund plans a one -time pump campaign to lower the water to the original level of the wetland. A mobile pump is supposed to derive the excess water via lines in the Heimbach, about 800 meters away. The city emphasizes that this measure is not only a reaction to the current problems, but also ecologically sensible and necessary. Because the area currently does not offer a natural outflow option and has already been affected by floods in the past.

background and ecological effects

The water accumulation not only has technical, but also ecological aspects. Damage to residential buildings caused by heavy rain caused the problem to become increasingly in focus. An illegal connection of the wetland to the sewage system was closed in 2022 and filled with concrete to avoid further complications. A new advance along the route of the never realized L663N has already been created in order to be able to remove the water better in the future.

The city of Dortmund also sees the ecological changes through the water accumulation positively. The area has developed into a retreat for amphibians, insects and water birds, which increases the biotopes diversity. An introduction of the water into the sewage system is excluded because it would be overloaded in heavy rain. In addition, a permanent solution via fixed pipes for the Heimbach is currently not planned because it is subject to approval and requires further planning.

information resources to heavy rain

In order to better classify the dangers of heavy rain, the city of Dortmund offers a heavy rain hazard card. This map based on model calculations identifies endangered areas and shows possible floods in three stages of the maximum water levels. There is a low risk in the areas without blue coloring, while the darker colored sections indicate higher expected water depths. The Ministry for the Environment, Agriculture, Nature and Consumer Protection NRW also provides flood hazard cards that map the dangers of larger waters such as Emscher and Ruhr, whereby small waters are not taken into account [dortmund.de].

The increased rainfalls and the associated floods have given many cities in Germany with major challenges in recent years. However, the city of Dortmund seems to be actively dealing with these challenges in order to ensure both the security of the residents and to preserve the ecological value of the nature reserve.

For more information about water states and dealing with heavy rain, interested parties have the opportunity to consult resources such as the website of the [Federal Institute for Water Science].