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! .