Steinbachtalsperre (North Rhine-Westphalia)

Steinbachtalsperre
	Steinbachtalsperre (Euskirchen district) in a south-westerly direction
Location:	District of Euskirchen
Tributaries:	Steinbach, Treuenbach
Drain:	Steinbach → Swist → Erft → Rhine → North Sea
Major cities nearby:	Euskirchen
	North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany
Coordinates	50 ° 35 ′ 27 " N , 6 ° 50 ′ 12" E Coordinates: 50 ° 35 ′ 27 " N , 6 ° 50 ′ 12" E
	Data on the structure
Construction time:	1934-1936
Height above valley floor:	19 m
Height above foundation level :	23 m
Building volume:	100 000 m³
Crown length:	240 m
Crown width:	approx. 15 m
Operator:	Special purpose association Steinbachtalsperre / water supply association Euskirchen-Swisttal
	Data on the reservoir
Altitude (at congestion destination )	278.73 m
Water surface	14.6 ha
Reservoir length	approx. 980 m
Reservoir width	Max. 380 m
Storage space	1.06 million m³
Total storage space :	1.2 million m³
Catchment area	16 km²

The Steinbachtalsperre is a dam in Kirchheim near Euskirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia .

history

The dam was built under pressure from the Euskirchen cloth industry, which at the end of the 1920s could no longer meet its water requirements from the natural streams. On the one hand, complaints were made about the water quality, which was severely impaired by discharges from the Mechernich lead mining. On the other hand, the amount of available water that was used to drive the turbines and as process water was no longer sufficient . The purpose association Steinbachtalsperre was founded in 1933 to carry out construction and ongoing operations. Construction work began in February 1934. The first water withdrawal took place in the course of 1935. A cast iron pipeline with a total length of 16 km including all branches into the city of Euskirchen and Kuchenheim was built to transport the water.

The lake, which is up to 17.4 m deep in the forest, is now a popular local recreation area . The barrier structure of the dam is a dam . The operator is the special purpose association Steinbachtalsperre / water supply association Euskirchen-Swisttal.

From September 1988 the dam was renovated . On April 27, 1990, the backwater began.

In the years 2002 to 2003, due to the budgetary situation of the city of Euskirchen, the city council considered closing the forest swimming pool. The facility was to be leased to the Ruhr University in Bochum , which wanted to build a research center for marine mammals on the site . Due to the lack of permanent prospects, the university withdrew from the project.

The forest swimming pool is supported by a development association. The Rhenish Office for the Preservation of Monuments of the Rhineland Regional Association has applied to the city of Euskirchen to place the outdoor forest swimming pool under monument protection .

Freetime activities

At the lake there is a forest pool with 7500 square meters of water with swimmer's pool and paddling or wading pool and water slide and diving platform. A large children's playground , a beach volleyball field and other leisure activities are also located on the premises. The Wald-Gaststätte Steinbach with its own brewery and beer garden is in the immediate vicinity. A nature trail with natural history boards leads around the reservoir . The hiking trail through quiet wooded areas leads leisurely hikers around the lake in about 60 minutes. Fishing is possible in the lake ; However, boating , windsurfing and swimming are not allowed on the lake.

literature

Andreas Dix: Industrialization and water use. A historical-geographical environmental history of the Ludwig Müller cloth factory in Kuchenheim (= contributions to industrial and social history. Vol. 7). Rheinland-Verlag GmbH, Cologne 1997, ISBN 3-7927-1600-3 (also: Bonn, Univ., Diss., 1993).
Gundula Lang: Combining the useful with the beautiful: The forest swimming pool at the Steinbachtalsperre near Euskirchen-Kirchheim. In: Preservation of monuments in the Rhineland. Vol. 25, H. 3, 2008, ISSN 0177-2619 , pp. 134-140.