Erlenbach (Nidda)

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Erlenbach
course

course

Data
Water code EN : 2488
location Taunus

Rhine-Main lowlands

Germany

River system Rhine
Drain over Nidda  → Main  → Rhine  → North Sea
source northeast Großer Feldberg
50 ° 15 ′ 11 ″  N , 8 ° 29 ′ 55 ″  E
Source height 590  m above sea level NHN
muzzle near Bad Vilbel in the Nidda coordinates: 50 ° 10 ′ 43 "  N , 8 ° 43 ′ 17"  E 50 ° 10 ′ 43 "  N , 8 ° 43 ′ 17"  E
Mouth height 105  m above sea level NHN
Height difference 485 m
Bottom slope about 16 ‰
length about 30 km
Catchment area 71.3 km² (above level )
Runoff at the Ober-Erlenbach gauge MQ
 356 l / s
Big cities Frankfurt am Main
Medium-sized cities Friedrichsdorf , Bad Homburg , Bad Vilbel
Small towns Neu-Anspach , Wehrheim
source

source

in the Köpperner valley

in the Köpperner valley

shortly before Nieder-Erlenbach

shortly before Nieder-Erlenbach

Estuary at Bad Vilbel

Estuary at Bad Vilbel

Erlenbach between Neu-Anspach and Nieder-Erlenbach
Identifier 5717-305
WDPA ID 555521057
Natura 2000 ID DE5717305
f6
f5
f4

The Erlenbach is a low mountain range in the state of Hesse , Germany . It rises in the Taunus and flows into the Nidda . From the source to Nieder-Erlenbach , it has been designated as an FFH area since 2004 .

geography

course

The main source of the Erlenbach is located near the Großer Feldberg north-east of the Sandplacken , not far below the Taunus ridge. There the Erlenbach emerges in a pool several meters in size. Shortly after the source, it already has a relatively large amount of water. After a steep stretch of river, the Erlenbach in Stahlnhainer Grund near Neu-Anspach is fed by many small streams. In an arc he reached Wehrheim . The Bizzenbach flows there . Behind Wehrheim at the height of Lochmühle , the brook has broken through the Taunus quartzite ridge as the Köpperner valley . Here the stream constantly carries so much water that historically seven mills had settled in the Wehrheim area. Besides the Lochmühle, the most famous was the Sandelmühle of the Thron Monastery .

After the Köpperner Tal, the Erlenbach arrives in Friedrichsdorf . After the district of Köppern comes the Spießwald , shortly thereafter Burgholzhausen. Here water is diverted for a fish pond. Most fish species are found in this area. The Niederweid , a wet meadow, lies below Burgholzhausen. It is mainly watered by the Mühlgraben, which flows back into the Erlenbach a little downstream after a mill. In the area of ​​the next town, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe , the Erlenbach reaches the Lohwald , where the Seulbach flows. Further through the Bad Homburg district of Ober-Erlenbach follows the first and only sewage treatment plant on the stream. In front of it there is also a level , the values ​​of which can be called up on the Internet ( → web links ). Now it reaches the Frankfurt district near Nieder-Erlenbach , only to flow into the Nidda not much later in the Bad Vilbel area near Massenheim .

Tributaries

The largest tributaries of the Erlenbach are the Seulbach near Friedrichsdorf or the Bizzenbach near Wehrheim. Many smaller, mostly dry streams flow into the Taunus and the Köpperner Tal. They can carry large amounts of water when it rains and thus contribute to high water peaks.

The tributaries of the Erlenbach include (viewed downstream, kilometers from the mouth to the source):

Surname GKZ location Stat.
in km 		Length
in km 		Mouth height
in m above sea level NHN 		Mouth
Sommerbach 2488-1196 right 25.8 2.0 350 Neu-Anspach
Mühlbach
( Obernhainer Bach ) 		2488-1918 right 22.2 2.0 310 Wehrheim- Obernhain
Bizzenbach 2488-2 Left 21.6 4.0 298 Wehrheim
Farnbach 2488-394 Left 15.6 2.3 223 Friedrichsdorf- Köppern
Seulbach 2488-6 right 8.9 4.7 145 Bad Homburg- Ober-Erlenbach
  1. ↑ Water code number , in Germany the official river code number with a separator inserted after the prefix for better readability, which stands for the common receiving water Erlenbach .

Nidda river system

nature and environment

Water quality

Most of the Erlenbach has quality class I-II (low pollution). At the source, the water with level I (unpolluted) is still very clean. Agriculture near Neu-Anspach has a negative effect; the quality class is only II (moderately loaded). From the Köpperner Tal, however, the Erlenbach regains its self-cleaning power and again has quality classes I-II. This lasts up to the sewage treatment plant, behind which it only falls to stage II thanks to the effective cleaning.

The pH value of the Erlenbach is neutral to slightly acidic, the total hardness is in the very soft range (e.g. in summer <3 ° d at the source, <6 ° d near Burgholzhausen).

Ecological

In contrast to many other Hessian rivers and streams, the water structure of the Erlenbach is on average satisfactory. Weirs, especially those once built to divert several mill ditches between Wehrheim and Ober-Erlenbach, are very rare today. The last weirs in the Friedrichsdorf area were removed in 2005 and 2012. The remaining obstacles are the stilling basin behind the gauge near Ober-Erlenbach and the traffic jams in the Lochmühle amusement park . The formerly concreted underpass of the A5 was renatured with Taunus quartzite stones in the course of the construction work on the Friedrichsdorf relief road, which the Erlenbach also crosses, and a measuring point in the Köpperner valley was removed in 2008.

In the area of ​​the Friedrichsdorf district, the local association of the Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany took on a brook sponsorship for an approximately ten kilometer long section of the Erlenbach in the 1980s . The tasks taken on by the brook sponsors consist of cleaning the water from all types of waste and monitoring the water quality using bio-indicators . Other activities include securing and caring for the wooded areas on the banks of the river - young black alder trees ( Alnus glutinosa ) are planted in the gaps in the vegetation on the banks of the stream and the stock of pollarded willows ( Salix ) are maintained - as well as the development of renaturation measures in cooperation with specialist departments of the municipal administration.

The ecologically significant Mühlgraben behind Burgholzhausen, which was diverted from a weir there, has been supplied by a powerful electric pump since the weir was demolished , which according to the Habitats Directive only runs at water levels higher than 15 cm. It runs above the Niederweid wet meadow area , about 2 hectares in size , which it contributes to waterlogging through seepage. The upper Mühlgraben in Köppern had to be drained in 2004 because it was filled in at the end of its course when a factory building was demolished. The weir closed contactor remained until 2012, was demolished and how the former weirs on the eastern edge Köpperns or behind Burgholzhausen through a rough ramp replaced. This mill trench also bridges an inlet of the Erlenbach with the Farnbach. A citizens' initiative is preserving the moat as a ground monument and has tried to irrigate the moat again since it was drained, which happened again in the upper part of the Farnbach through a contract between the city and the association. Here, too, it is ensured at the discharge that water can only flow into the Mühlgraben when the water level is sufficient. For the most part, the water seeps away in front of the Farnbach; for heavy rain and flood events , the aqueduct over the Farnbach was breached laterally and provided with a transverse wall. The members periodically clean trenches and the surrounding area and vegetation. Another mill ditch, which runs from the Teichmühle in Köppern to the Talmühle in Burgholzhausen and which is piped in the settlement area of ​​Burgholzhausen, has not carried water for a long time, but a bridge for the relief road was built over it in 2006. Other mill ditches in the Köpperner Tal at the Walkmühle and between Buchenwiese and Hüttenmühle (today's Köppern Forest Hospital ) can only be guessed at, the weirs have also been removed and the stream area renatured.

One of the most natural parts of the Erlenbach is the Lohwald on the northern border of Bad Homburg. Here the Erlenbach partly has a water structure quality of level II. The spring and a forest near Nieder-Erlenbach also have natural spots.

The mouth of the Erlenbach was completely renatured in 1995. The stream from the artificial part was put back into the original stream bed. The Niddaweg was led around the area.

Creature

In the colder areas (up to Burgholzhausen), the Erlenbach is populated by numerous small organisms such as quiver larvae , mayfly and stone fly larvae . Occur in the brook

The native crayfish are rarely found. Sea trout were released for the first time in 2009 , of which an 80 cm specimen was found by chance in the Nidda in spring 2015. From the Lohwald on, the occurrence of chub rises downstream, the cold-loving species such as bullhead or brown trout can no longer be found here.

Many small mammals live outside the water, for example the muskrat . The kingfisher also occurs here.

In the 18th century the Erlenbach was considered the most trout-rich water of the Vordertaunus.

Stream cleaning

Once a year, private individuals meet in Köppern to clean the stream, in which the stream is freed of debris and, in some cases, neophytes such as the Indian balsam , which is not so common in comparison to other bodies of water in the region, or the Japanese knotweed . The latter is very common, especially in the spit forest.

In addition, the Erlenbach fishing club takes care of the stocks in the stream and a pond near Burgholzhausen, which is also fed by the stream.

bridges

A large number of bridges lead over the Erlenbach. Some of them have existed for a long time and have the status of a cultural monument.

Listed Erlenbach bridges
image Place, location annotation
Erlebach TS Koeppern Chausseebruecke.jpg Köppern
Köpperner Strasse
⊙ 		The oldest bridge over the Erlenbach in Köppern, built in 1826 with the Friedrichsdorf road construction. Replaces a ford near today's Rewe market (Bachstrasse).
Burgholzhausen Erlenbachbrücke railway south side 2.jpg Burgholzhausen vor der Höhe
Outside the village, near Talmühle / Wehrwiesen
⊙ 		Railway bridge from 1897 at kilometer 26.62. Later expanded on the north side.
Ober-Erlenbach, Ober-Erlenbacher Strasse, Bridge.JPG Ober-Erlenbach
Ober-Erlenbacher Strasse
⊙ 		Built in red sandstone in 1866, bridge reinforced in 1880 by double arching.

Bike paths

The Erlenbach cycle path was expanded by 2002, which allows cycling or hiking from the source to the mouth. In 2006, one last problem point at the motorway underpass near Friedrichsdorf was defused in the course of the construction of the relief road. A ramp now replaces stairs, and a section of the path was attached.

literature

  • Adalbert Niemeyer-Lüllwitz, Dieter Popp, Jürgen A. Winkler, Herbert Zucchi: Save the brooks. Natur & Umwelt Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-924749-11-6 . In it: Chapter The Action - Godparents for Brooks. An example - Erlenbach sponsorship, pp. 254–257. Description of the Bach sponsorship project of the BUND local association Friedrichsdorf for an approximately 10 kilometer long section of the Erlenbach.
  • City of Frankfurt am Main, Environment Agency (Ed.): City waters - discover rivers, streams, oxbow lakes . Frankfurt 2004

Web links

Commons : Erlenbach  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Erlenbach  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ WFD in Hesse
  2. ↑ Environmental Atlas Hessen → Water → Surface Waters → Biol. Water Quality
  3. ↑ Simple measurement with test strips in August 2006
  4. ↑ Niemeyer-Lüllwitz / Popp / Winkler / Zucchi: Save the brooks, p. 255
  5. ↑ Niemeyer-Lüllwitz / Popp / Winkler / Zucchi: Save the brooks, p. 256 f.
  6. ↑ Finally water for the Mühlgraben ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article in the Taunus newspaper from December 6, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.fnp.de
  7. ↑ "Mühlgraben: Waiting for the water law" - article in the Taunus newspaper from May 11, 2011
  8. ↑ Environmental Atlas Hessen → Water → Surface Waters → Water Structural Quality
  9. ↑ a b The Erlenbach at ASV Bad Vilbel
  10. ↑ The sea trout project is in its sixth year (PDF, 170 kB), report by IG Nidda
  11. ↑ 80 cm tall sea trout: Sensational catch in the Nidda , article in the Frankfurter Neue Presse from May 21, 2015
  12. ^ History of Nidda ( memento from March 24, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) at IG Nidda