Köttelbecke
Köttelbecke is a colloquial term in the Ruhr area for a small, formerly natural but now heavily canalized flowing water that is used for wastewater disposal by industry, mining and municipalities.
The Ruhr German name is made up of the terms Köttel , a slang term for Kot (also common in the form Hundeköttel , Hasenköttel ) and Becke , a common and etymologically related term for Bach , derived from Low German .
To active times of the mining industry , there were no alternatives to this form of open sewage, as well as underground channels stream channels had been conditionally regularly dropped or damaged by mining subsidence.
For ecological reasons, attempts have been made for several years to end this type of surface wastewater disposal, since the canalised rivers have to be fenced in for safety reasons, are often the cause of strong odor nuisance and are hazardous to health on contact. Last but not least, renaturation is also sought for aesthetic reasons to improve the surroundings. Mountain subsidence and other conditions make these efforts difficult.
The Emscher and many of its tributaries such as the Boye bear this name among the local population, as do the Lippe tributaries in the east of the Ruhr area such as the Körnebach through the east of Dortmund and in Kamen , as well as the Seseke . The last two rivers mentioned have been renatured for years with a program that used to cost DM 600 million by laying large sewer pipes in parallel, removing the concrete-straightened channels and artificially placing the streams in meanders again. Often walking paths and bike paths have also been created in the renewed environment. Another example of a renaturation that has taken place is the Läppkes Mühlenbach .
The Emscher itself is also being changed (as of 2012) as part of the conversion of the Emscher system project . The classic Köttelbecke should have disappeared from the landscape of the Ruhr area by around 2020.