THE EMSCHER CONVERSION: A CONTRIBUTION TO BIODIVERSITY, QUALITY OF LIFE AND URBAN RESILIENCE Dr. Mario Sommerhäuser, EMSCHERGENOSSENSCHAFT, July 2nd, 2018
EMSCHERGENOSSENSCHAFT / LIPPEVERBAND
Public water associations for over a 100 years
COOPERATIVE AREA LV
COOPERATIVE AREA EG
EUROPE GERMANY NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA
OUR CATCHMENT AREAS
Streams
Drainage pumping station COOPERATIVE AREA LV Coesfeld Wastewater treatment plant
Dülmen Borken Lüdinghausen Ahlen Haltern Dren- Dorsten steinfurt
Wesel Werne Datteln Lippborg Marl Hamm LIPPE Berg- Reckling- Waltrop kamen Herten hausen Dinslaken Lünen Bönen Gelsen- Kamen Ober- Bottrop kirchen Castrop- Unna Soest hausen Werl Rauxel Dortmund
Duisburg Essen Holzwickede Bochum Witten Area (km²) Population (Mio.) Inhabitants/km² RHEIN Lippeverband 3.280 1,4 427
Emschergenossenschaft 865 2,2 2.546 COOPERATIVE AREA EG
OUR CATCHMENT AREAS
Streams
Drainage pumping station COOPERATIVE AREA LV Coesfeld Wastewater treatment plant
Polder area: Dülmen 842 km² Borken Lüdinghausen Ahlen Haltern Dren- Dorsten steinfurt
Wesel Werne Datteln Lippborg Marl Hamm LIPPE Berg- Reckling- Waltrop kamen Herten hausen Dinslaken Lünen Bönen Gelsen- Kamen Ober- Bottrop kirchen Castrop- Unna Soest hausen Werl Rauxel Dortmund
Duisburg Essen Holzwickede Bochum Witten Area (km²) Population (Mio.) Inhabitants/km² RHEIN Lippeverband 3.280 1,4 427
Emschergenossenschaft 865 2,2 2.546 COOPERATIVE AREA EG
WATERBOARD LEGISLATION
Law (1899) concerning the EMSCHERGENOSSENSCHAFT
LEGAL FORM, NAME §1 For the above-ground catchment area of the Emscher (cooperative area, §4), a public sector entity with the name of „EMSCHERGENOSSENSCHAFT“ is formed. (...) It benefits the public weal and common welfare of its members.
• Members: Municipalities, industries, mining companies • Self-administration and self-responsibilty • Non-profit • River basin management: water, waste-water, ground water, flood protection, … • Largest waste-water company in Germany
A SHORT STORY OF THE EMSCHER
1800: Villages, mills, fish and crayfish
THE EMSCHER VALLEY IN TIMES OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
Booming economy – increasing population
Population development and coal production 1850 to 1920
Coal production Population
Geografische Rundschau 7-8/2013
THE EMSCHER VALLEY AROUND 1900
Flooding caused epidemics and diseases
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TECHNICAL EMSCHER SYSTEM
1900 – 1940
THE TECHNICAL EMSCHER SYSTEM: A NO-GO AREA
Main purpose: transport of waste water
EMSCHER CONVERSION AND URBAN RESILIENCE
From mining and steel production to a modern and eco-friendly region
MORE THAN ENGINEERING AND ECOLOGY: THE MASTERPLAN EMSCHER-ZUKUNFT
2884 single projects for urban development and landscape planning
Script for the Emscher conversion and the structural transformation of the Emscher region
Water economy Ecology Urban development Design and Construction
THE EMSCHER CONVERSION
The largest infrastructure project in the region
− Budget frame: about 5 billion Euros − Construction of 4 decentral wastewater treatment plants − 429 km of sewers − 326 km of renatured waterways
WASTEWATER-FREE IN 2020/21
THE SYSTEM BECOMES DIVIDED
Underground waste water sewer systems – above-ground clear water streams
Sewer
Resilient cities: Sustainable and nature-based solutions by integrated water management
Environment Economy Education and climate
Environment 2018: 135 km of restored rivers
URBAN BIODIVERSITY
Increase of species numbers of macroinvertebrates 1990 - 2018
+ 280
1990: 170 species 2016: 450 species
More than 100 endangered species of invertebrates and fish
Environment: New wilderness for a colorful urban biodiversity
ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE: HARD RAINFALL, FLOODING AND HEAT WAVES
FLOOD PROTECTION MULTIFUNCTIONAL:
RETENTION AND SPACE FOR BIODIVERSITY
Flood retention basin Dortmund-Mengede: volume 1 Mio. m³
220 km of new urban bicycle paths
Environment and climate protection: New blue-green corridors for the quality of life, healthcare and sports
Deininghauser Bach, Castrop-Rauxel
Bringing culverted rivers back to the surface – for urban microclimate and development
22
Decoupling of stormwater from sealed areas: 4,000 acre of decoupled to strengthen the urban water cycle and to provide surfaces (ca. 1,000 attractive housing and climate protection football fields
Emscher conversion: economic value of 14 bn euros, 5,500 new jobs
Economy: Added value via investments, jobs, secondary consumption, taxes For ESS see also www.dessin-project.eu
Education: Discovering and learning
Dortmund-Aplerbeck 25 school partnerships and ‘Blue Classrooms’
URBAN GARDENING
Wine growing at Phoenix Lake – a symbol for the infrastructural change along the New Emscher
URBAN RESILIENCE: EXAMPLE LAKE PHOENIX
From a former steelworks to a growing quarter of the town
− Floodwater retention basin for 250,000 m³ − Lake ecosystem − Housing, leisure and sports
Phoenix-See, Dortmund
Water in the cities of tomorrow: Precondition for urban climate, recreation, leisure and housing Lake Phoenix, Dortmund
EMSCHER CONVERSION: ADDED VALUE FOR A RESILIENT REGION
Biodiversity Economy Education Art & Culture
Urban Structural National health Tourism development transformation
COOPERATIONS WITH UNIVERSITIES
Emscher conversion and topics of scientific interest
Biology – Ecology (restoration success, Infrastructural change, social development multiple stressors analysis, genetics) • TU Dortmund • University of Duisburg-Essen • Ruhr University Bochum, Zefir • University of Applied Sciences, • University of Duisburg-Essen Magdeburg • University of Osnabrück • University of Münster
Emscher conversion and public health Landscape ecology and architecture • Essen University Hospital • Rutgers University, New Jersey • TU Dortmund • University of Applied Sciences OWL, Höxter
Emschergenossenschaft is a cooperative member of the University Alliance Ruhr
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!