Geeste reservoir

Geeste reservoir
	Reservoir with a view of the beach from the sun terrace
Location:	Emsland district
Drain:	Ems
Larger places nearby:	Lingen (Ems) , Meppen
	Lower Saxony , Germany
Coordinates	52 ° 35 '11 " N , 7 ° 17' 46" E Coordinates: 52 ° 35 '11 " N , 7 ° 17' 46" E
	Data on the structure
Construction time:	-1987
Height above valley floor:	15 m
Height above foundation level :	17 m
Height of the structure crown:	36.00 m
Building volume:	4,540,000 m³
Crown length:	5818 m
Crown width:	10 m
Slope slope on the water side :	1: 3
	Data on the reservoir
Altitude (at congestion destination )	34.00 m
Water surface	230 ha
Storage space	22.96 million m³
Particularities:	Cooling water basin for nuclear power plant

The Geeste reservoir near Geeste is a still water between Lingen (Ems) and Meppen in Emsland ( Lower Saxony ).

The sea

The artificial lake was built in the 1980s as a cooling water basin for the Emsland nuclear power plant twelve kilometers away . It is about two kilometers long and 1.3 km wide at its widest point. It is located on the B 70 and 15 meters higher than the surrounding area. According to the RWE, the water area is 230 hectares . Apart from precipitation and groundwater, the lake has no natural inflows. Its water is taken from the Ems via the Dortmund-Ems Canal and returned when necessary. The ring dam is a dam made of loose earth.

If the Ems water flow is not sufficient for the supply of the additional water quantities required in normal operation of the power plant block, they can be taken completely or partially from the reservoir. The stored water is fed to the extraction area of the block via the Dortmund-Ems Canal . The amount of water provided by the reservoir is only used to maintain normal power operation. The amount of water required for the removal of residual heat can always be covered by the natural runoff of the Ems . These amounts of water are still available if the Hanekenfähr weir fails . The fill level drops by approx. 7.5 cm per day with this removal. The lake, like the power station, is 87.5% owned by RWE ; E.ON has a 12.5% stake.

Drought summer 2018

The 2018 drought resulted in heavy water withdrawal from the reservoir. With the water released into the Ems via the Dortmund-Ems Canal , the cooling water withdrawal of the Lingen gas power plants and the Emsland nuclear power plant was offset. Without this balance water, the power plants would have had to reduce their output. The volume of the lake was taken from 18 million m³ to the beginning of October 9.5 million m³. By October 30, the total extraction rose to 10.5 million m³, so that the lake was only up to 2.6 m deep. Numerous objects emerged from the floods, which are primarily used for fish stocking and diving.

tourism

There are many recreational opportunities at the reservoir. There is an 850 m long sandy beach with a lawn, restaurants, sun terrace, a large children's playground, a halfpipe for inline skaters and a beach volleyball field . There are also numerous outdoor activities such as windsurfing, sailing, diving, stand up paddling and a mountain bike trail. About 15 km long paved bike and hiking trails open up the lake, of which 5.8 km on the dam crest.

The Geester Nautical Mile is known as a recurring event on the second weekend in July and the house and electronic festival "House am See", which has been taking place since 2016, has always been on Father's Day (Ascension Day) with several thousand visitors. The annual kite festival on the Speichersee takes place in spring / summer and the Shanty Open Air on the second Sunday in August.

The "Emspark Auenwald" holiday park has existed directly on the lake since 2006 and has numerous holiday apartments for tourists. There is also a youth tent site, a mobile home site and a youth center at the reservoir. The house is run by the association "Jugendhaus am Speicherbecken Geeste eV". The youth center offers ideal conditions for school class trips, tent camps, camping tours and relaxing family vacations.

Wetland

To the north of the reservoir is a 50 hectare wet biotope with rare animal and plant species. It was created as an ecological compensation measure for the construction of the reservoir. It is closed to visitors, but there are viewpoints with which the wetland can be viewed. One with a telescope on the top of the dam and another viewing hill directly at the parking lot on the L67.