THE CONVERSION: A CONTRIBUTION TO BIODIVERSITY, QUALITY OF LIFE AND URBAN RESILIENCE Dr. Mario Sommerhäuser, , July 2nd, 2018

EMSCHERGENOSSENSCHAFT /

Public water associations for over a 100 years

COOPERATIVE AREA LV

COOPERATIVE AREA EG

EUROPE NORTH -

OUR CATCHMENT AREAS

Streams

Drainage pumping station COOPERATIVE AREA LV Wastewater treatment plant

Dülmen Lüdinghausen Ahlen Haltern Dren-

Wesel Lippborg Marl Berg- Reckling- hausen Lünen Bönen Gelsen- Kamen Ober- kirchen Castrop- hausen Rauxel

Duisburg Holzwickede 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 • 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!