Bruchhausen-Syke-Thedinghausen melioration cooperative
The melioration cooperative Bruchhausen-Syke-Thedinghausen was a water management association in today's districts of Diepholz and Verden in Lower Saxony. It existed from 1882 to 1967.
prehistory
In the first half of the 19th century, the Weser dykes around the Lower Saxony town of Hoya had so-called raids . These notches were used to relieve the respective dyke during flooding, as the water could flow into the hinterland from a certain height and flood it. Another important point was that as a result of these meadow floods, fertile river mud was often deposited on the fields.
In 1852, however, the raids on the left bank of the Weser were filled and the dyke line closed. The lowlands were now protected, but a few years later the farmers noticed a decline in harvests and yields, caused by the lack of the fertilizing sludge. During this time the idea arose of reintroducing the flooding - albeit artificially and controlled.
Building the cooperative
For this reason a plan was developed, which the governments of the Hanover and Prussian provinces supported. In 1882 the communities of Bruchhausen-Vilsen , Thedinghausen and Syke merged to form a cooperative.
In the following six years, the irrigation systems and projects for amelioration were implemented in the region under the direction of the building councilor Heß , which cost a total of 3,300,000 gold marks . After its completion in 1888, the association gave itself the name Meliorationsgenossenschaft Bruchhausen-Syke-Thedinghausen. A year later, began in 4600 hectares cooperative area (which is the present-day towns Bruchhausen-Vilsen, Syke, Thedinghausen, Hoyerhagen , Martfeld , Schwarme , Süstedt , Süstedt-Uenzen, Syke- Wachendorf , Syke- Gödestorf , Syke's Osterholz and Syke-Okel includes ) irrigation (in Süstedt-Uenzen not until 1903).
The aim of the measures was not only to irrigate the fields, but also drainage and land consolidation .
The facilities
The remediation cooperative was responsible for 82 kilometers of dykes, 375 kilometers of watercourses and 116 kilometers of paths and roads. There were also 524 dams, 85 bridges and numerous culverts and lock keepers' houses. This amelioration was thus the most widely ramified in Central Europe.
The area was divided into 53 districts.
Main melioration canal
Probably the best known canal of the cooperative was the main melioration canal. It led via Hoya, where it branched off from the Weser , over a length of 26.8 kilometers via Hoyerhagen , Bruchhausen and Süstedt in a north-westerly direction to Syke-Okel. It had an average width of six meters and a depth of 2.50 meters. The canal, equipped with twelve locks, was designed for a discharge of 13 cubic meters per second.
How irrigation works
When the level of the Weser had reached a certain height, the water at Hoya flowed through a lock into the main canal and in this to the actual irrigation area. Small weirs were used to dam the canal so that the water could be directed to the appropriate areas. This was done via supply channels. In detail these were the (from north to south):
- Thedinghausen Canal
- Black Canal
- Süstedt-Uenzen Canal
- Martfeld Canal
- Wöpser Canal
Hess had planned to use what is known as dust irrigation for irrigation . In this process, the inlet lock of a district was opened so that it was gradually flooded. A simultaneous incomplete opening of the discharge sluice ensured that the water level in the meadows was never more than 30 to 50 centimeters. After two or three days, the first lock was closed and the second opened completely, so that the water could then drain away again. In the meantime the Weser had deposited silt . In addition, the slow, steady flooding ensured a constant movement of water, which transported oxygen and carbonic acid.
In the entire area of the Bruchhausen-Syke-Thedinghausen melioration cooperative, attempts were made to ensure an even distribution of water by means of guide dams .
The natural watercourses Eyter and Süstedter Bach acted as drainage rivers to the north . For this they were deepened and straightened.
In principle , all areas were irrigated in the winter months, when the Weser river carried a particularly large amount of sediments and suspended matter. In summer, on the other hand, only the level in the trenches was kept in order not to let the groundwater level drop and to give the animals the opportunity to take up water. In addition, drainage was dealt with in the summer.
costs
Every farmer who wanted to take part in the irrigation had to pay 32 gold marks per year and hectare to the cooperative for maintenance, operation, administration and interest. In addition there were 5 gold marks for the area costs.
history
Problems
In the early years, the cooperative had to struggle with many problems in the sewer network.
For example, the performance of the irrigation fell far short of the farmers' expectations, since the fertilizing flooding, as mentioned above, was only possible from a certain water level. However, this occurred less often than expected. In summer it was often not even possible to moisten the fields, meadows and fields.
These problems were resolved with the completion of the Weser weir near Dörverden , which was built from 1899 to 1914, as a damming meant that enough water could always flow into the main canal.
The depth of the drainage ditches, which led to a partial desiccation of the land, was also not taken into account when implementing the improvement project. In order to counteract this dilemma , it was decided to subsequently build small dams in the trenches.
The dust irrigation system favored by Heß could not be fully implemented at the beginning, as the planned dams were never built and there were often overflows. In these cases the water did not flow calmly over the fields, but stood.
success
As a consequence of these problems, a comprehensive rehabilitation of the melioration area began as early as 1898. Facilities for better water distribution were built, areas leveled, plots merged, borders straightened and paths and polders created. In the forty years up to 1938, 2,000,000 gold marks were spent on repairs.
The construction work actually had the desired success. In the period that followed, farmers and farmers were able to increase their yields significantly. However, Prussia had to make a grant of 1,976,000 gold marks. This payment is considered to be one of the first ever agricultural subsidies .
The End
In the Second World War , the melioration systems suffered severe damage, which was made worse by a flood in the Weser in 1946 (with a dike breach in Hoya).
In the years 1949 to 1954 attempts were made to preserve the facilities with an investment of 500,000 marks . However, due to the straightening and regulation of the Weser and its tributaries, there was less and less silt in the water, which made fertilizing the fields more difficult. In addition, the use of artificial fertilizers became established at the same time .
The artificial flooding of the lowlands was subsequently almost exclusively used to control vermin. At the turn of 1961/1962, the cooperative ceased its work. Five years later it was converted into the Geestrandgraben water association . Today he is a member of the Mittelweser Association .
Another story
Individual sections of the main melioration channel were deepened and used as a drainage ditch under the name Geestrand ditch. Most of the channels and feeders, however, have been filled in. Not so the Eyter and the Süstedter Bach: From then on they served as receiving waters in the quarry that was gradually being drained.
After the cooperative ceased operations, most of the facilities were left to decay. During the land consolidation in the 1970s and 1980s , other components of the melioration system were destroyed.
Todays situation
Nowadays there are still references to the large-scale improvement project in some places.
The main melioration canal between Hoya and Bruchhausen-Vilsen is still very well preserved. In other places you can see its original course from the air by means of hedges and field walls . Today it is regarded as a technical monument and a cultural monument . In the north-west of Bruchhausen-Vilsen there are still remnants of the Süstedt-Uenzen feeder canal with locks.
In the vicinity of Syke-Gödestorf, individual drained canal sections with a lock made of wood can still be visited. The same applies to numerous stowage devices in trenches around Syke-Okel .
In the meantime, efforts are being made to partially preserve the former canals and some of the facilities. A signposted cycle path with many information boards for amelioration leads through the Eyterbruch from Thedinghausen to Bruchhausen-Vilsen, in some parts directly at the trenches. There is also a signposted circuit between Hoya and Bruchhausen-Vilsen, on which there are also information boards.
The melioration canals can also be explored on the water. On the approx. 22 km long route between Thedinghausen and Bruchhausen over the Eyter and the melioration canals there are 7 entry and exit points, at which information boards about the history of the melioration project have also been set up.
literature
- A. Heß: Expert opinion regarding the improvement of the lowlands located in the departments of Bruchhausen, Syke and Thedinghausen . Hanover , 1885
- HG Fischer: Swarms . Schwarme , 1994
- Roman Szechowycz: The irrigation systems Bruchhausen-Syke-Thedinghausen . Hanover , 1948 (dissertation)