Weisse-Elster River Basin November 2006
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Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig-Halle, Magdeburg, Germany (UFZ) HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Documentation Chapter 3 – Weisse-Elster River Basin November 2006 Harmonised techniques and representative river basin data for assessment and use of uncertainty information in integrated water management Contract EVK1-CT-2002-00109 Authors Michael Rode & Gerald Wenk, Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig-Halle, Magdeburg, Germany (UFZ) HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Documentation Chapter 3 – Weisse-Elster River Basin November 2006 Harmonised techniques and representative river basin data for assessment and use of uncertainty information in integrated water management Contract EVK1-CT-2002-00109 This report is Chapter 3 of a publicly accessible deliverable D6.3 of the HarmoniRiB project. This R&D project is partly financed within the European Commission´s “Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development” programme, Key Action 1 “ Sustainable Management and Quality of Water”, 1.1 Integrated management and sustainable use of water resources at catchment river basin or sub-basin scale, 1.1.1 Strategic planning and integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment / river scale under contract EVK1-CT 2002-00109. This report may be downloaded from the internet and copied, provided that it is not changed and provided that proper reference to it is made: Michael Rode & Gerald Wenk. Chapter 3 – Weisse-Elster River Basin. Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig-Halle, Magdeburg, Germany (UFZ), November 2006 (www.harmonirib.com) or (http://workplace.wur.nl/QuickPlace/harmonirib/Main.nsf/h_Toc/38da1522d3c0e520c12571 e3002f512c/?OpenDocument). HarmoniRiB June 2006 HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Report Contents 3 Weisse-Elster River Catchment Data report.......................................................... 3-2 3.1 Background.................................................................................................... 3-2 3.1.1 Geographical description....................................................................... 3-2 3.1.2 Environmental situation......................................................................... 3-6 3.1.3 Socio-economical overview.................................................................. 3-9 3.1.4 Previous studies................................................................................... 3-10 3.2 Metadata, data and associated uncertainties................................................ 3-10 3.2.1 Meteorological data............................................................................. 3-10 3.2.1.1 Precipitation..................................................................................... 3-10 3.2.1.2 Air Temperature .............................................................................. 3-22 3.2.1.3 Relative Humidity ........................................................................... 3-27 3.2.1.4 Sunshine duration............................................................................ 3-30 3.2.1.5 Wind Speed......................................................................................3-31 3.2.2 Discharge............................................................................................. 3-37 3.2.3 Water Quality...................................................................................... 3-43 3.2.4 Geological............................................................................................ 3-48 3.2.5 Soil....................................................................................................... 3-48 3.2.6 Land use............................................................................................... 3-49 3.2.7 Economical .......................................................................................... 3-50 3.3 Perspectives ................................................................................................. 3-50 3.4 Bibliography................................................................................................ 3-51 Rode & Wenk, Weisse-Elster River Catchment Data Report 3-1 HarmoniRiB June 2006 HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Report 3 WEISSE-ELSTER RIVER CATCHMENT DATA REPORT Michael Rode & Gerald Wenk Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Magdeburg, Germany (UFZ) 3.1 Background 3.1.1 Geographical description The Weisse Elster river basin is a subcatchment of the Saale river which is the second largest tributary of the Elbe River. The catchment area is about 5200 km² and is situated in the German federal states of Sachsen (Saxony), Thüringen (Thuringia) and Sachsen- Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), with its source being in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) in the Czech Republic (Figure 3-1). Figure 3-1: Location of the Weisse Elster River basin Rode & Wenk, Weisse-Elster River Catchment Data Report 3-2 HarmoniRiB June 2006 HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Report The river is 250 km long and has a mean discharge of 26 m³/s (discharge gauge station Oberthau). Main tributaries are the Pleisse River (7.9 m³/s), the Göltzsch River (2.8 m³/s), the Weida River (2.6 m³/s), and the Parthe River (1.2 m³/s). The river channel structure is very diverse with near-natural stretches (Figure 3-2) as well as normalized concrete-lined segments (Figure 3-3). Figure 3-2: Near-natural stretch of the Weisse Elster River The upper part of the basin is mountaineous with igneous and metamorphic rocks as well as consolidated tertiary rocks (sandstone) being the main geological features. It is characterized by steep slopes and narrow valleys with hardly any floodplains. Ground- water resources are scarce. The lower part of the basin is situated in the lowlands and mainly consists of pleistocene coverage. The valleys are broader with extensive flood- plains and there are substantial groundwater resources which are, however, impaired by mining activities. Rode & Wenk, Weisse-Elster River Catchment Data Report 3-3 HarmoniRiB June 2006 HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Report Figure 3-3: Artificiall stretch of the Weisse Elster River near Zitzschen Precipitation varies between 500 mm in the northern part of the basin (lowlands) and 1000 mm in the southern part (Figure 3-4) with annual runoff varying between ap- proximately 50 and 800 mm. Land use (Figure 3-5) in the basin is dominated by agricultural activities (43% crop- land, 16% pasture), especially in the lower part, and forest (21%), mainly in the upper part of the basin. The main field crops are grains with some root crops in the northern and some forage crops in the southern areas. Livestock in the area consists mainly of cattle with some pigs and sheep. Settlements, industrial areas and infrastructure take up 16% of the land with Leipzig and Halle being major cities located in the catchment. The area south west of Leipzig is characterized by active and reclaimed open pit mines. Rode & Wenk, Weisse-Elster River Catchment Data Report 3-4 HarmoniRiB June 2006 HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Report Figure 3-4: Annual precipitation in the Weisse Elster River Basin The river basin Weisse Elster extends in four German States – Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Bavaria. In these States it covers partly or totally 22 districts and 338 municipalities. In the German part of the catchment there are 1.484.965 inhabitants. This corresponds to population density of 289 inhabitants/km², which is higher than the average density in both in Germany (231 inhabitants/km²) and in the corresponding federal states - Saxony (236 inhabitants/km²), Saxony-Anhalt (125 inhabitants/km²) and Thuringia (148 inhabitants/km²). Rode & Wenk, Weisse-Elster River Catchment Data Report 3-5 HarmoniRiB June 2006 HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Report Figure 3-5: Land use in the Weisse Elster Catchment 3.1.2 Environmental situation Water quantity and quality are closely related to the various economic activities in the river basin. Due to extensive construction, pollution from agriculture, industrial and municipal discharge and open pit mining waters, the Weisse Elster is considered bio- logically and chemically moderately polluted. Although water quality has substantially improved in the last few years, a comprehensive remediation program is necessary to meet the WFD targets. Rode & Wenk, Weisse-Elster River Catchment Data Report 3-6 HarmoniRiB June 2006 HarmoniRiB River Basin Data Report Most of the Weisse Elster is classified as moderately polluted with some river reaches being critically polluted (classification according to German water quality standards). Main problems are nutrient compounds (total N & total P), some river reaches are im- pacted by high ammonium concentrations. Also, salt concentrations (esp. sulphate) are quite high due to open pit mining and other industrial activities in the catchment area; however, the loads are considered ecologically not relevant and the time schedule for closing down and flooding the open pit mines has been fixed. Salt loads are not subject to further management activities. Table 3-1: 90-percentile of concentrations (2001) Monitoring station (river) Total N (mg/l) NH4-N (mg/l) NO3-N (mg/l) Total P (mg/l)PO4-P (mg/l) Halle-Ammendorf (Weisse Elster) 10.60 1.65 8.39 0.35 0.13 Schkeuditz (Weisse Elster) 13.00 4.51 5.65 0.42 0.18 Herlosohnstraße (Parthe) 11.00 3.50 5.42 0.74 0.14 Boehlen (Pleisse) 11.00 0.75 6.10 0.43 0.07 Zitschen (Weisse Elster) 8.70 0.37 5.87 0.39 0.16 Zeitz (Weisse Elster) 10.60 0.51 8.73 0.30 0.17 Gera-Langenberg (Weisse Elster) 8.50 0.80 7.30 0.21 0.18 River mouth (Weida) 10.60 0.24 8.86 0.30 0.28 Wünschendorf (Weisse