Water Association of West German Canals

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West German Canals Water Association (WWK)
legal form Public corporation
Seat Kronprinzenstrasse 24, 45128 Essen , North Rhine-Westphalia
founding January 1, 1970

Board Franz-Josef Schulte
executive Director Burkhard pond graves
Members 43
Website wasserverband-westdeutsche-kanaele.de

The water association West German Canals ( WWK ), based in Essen, is a corporation under public law to ensure sustainable water flow in the Lippe and to provide drinking and process water from the West German shipping canal network in conjunction with the Rhine , Ruhr and Lippe .

tasks

On the basis of an agreement between the Federal Ministry of Transport and the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Environment, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia founded the WWK as a public body under the Water Association Act. WWK regulates the self-governing Wasserverband the procurement and provision of water for drinking water - and industrial water supply for its members and balancing the lip of water management in connection with the West German canal network with the Rhine-Herne Canal , Wesel-Datteln Canal , Datteln-Hamm canal and Dortmund-Ems Canal . Essentially, the tasks set out in the statutes include

  • the construction and renewal of the pumping station chains ,
  • the responsibilities for the structure for the transfer of water from the Datteln-Hamm Canal into the Lippe near Hamm ,
  • the provision of water for the enrichment of the Lippe and for the water supply from the canals and
  • as the water supply authority, to offset the costs incurred for water abstraction with the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV).

The WWK has no sovereign tasks, but the individual water law permits lie with the lower water authorities of the districts / urban districts or the upper water authorities with the district governments. The supervisory authority for all activities of the WWK is the district government in Düsseldorf , the highest supervisory authority is the Ministry of the Environment of North Rhine-Westphalia . How much water can actually be withdrawn from the canals at a certain point and in a certain period of time depends on the available pumping capacity and the shipping issues that are checked by the river and shipping police. Since the West German canals are primarily used for shipping, their concerns take precedence in cases of doubt. The WWK members determine the guidelines according to which their association works and elect the board of directors and the association's head, set the business plan and decide on assessment rules. The number of votes of each member is based on the allocated shares for sewer water

  • that is consumed or has to be disposed of as wastewater after use, or
  • which is only warmed up after use and returned to the sewer in a different amount.

The control and monitoring of sewer water management has been carried out by the remote control center in Datteln since 1984 .

history

The West German shipping canals open up the conurbation between the Ruhr and Lippe for bulk goods traffic via the Rhine and Ems to the North Sea and via the Mittelland Canal to the Weser , Elbe , Oder and Vistula . The West German canals are now the busiest and most important artificial waterway network in Europe. They belong to the federal waterways and are administered by the Federal Ministry of Transport through the waterways and shipping administration. The construction of artificial shipping canals became necessary in the course of the industrialization of the Ruhr area , as there are no efficient rivers in the region for the transport of bulk goods. The oldest part of this canal network, the Dortmund-Ems Canal , has been connecting the eastern Ruhr area with the North Sea port of Emden since 1898 . In 1914 the Rhine-Herne Canal was completed as a connection to the Rhine and the Datteln-Hamm Canal was also put into operation. The second section of the so-called Lippe Side Canal , the Wesel-Datteln Canal (as a link from the Rhine to the Dortmund-Ems Canal and the Mittelland Canal ) was finally completed in 1930. Naturally, there are height differences that the channels between z. B. the North Sea , the connected rivers Ems, Rhine, Ruhr, Lippe and ports such as Dortmund , Datteln , Hamm or Münster have to overcome. Today there are five locks on the Rhine-Herne Canal and six on the Wesel-Datteln Canal. On the Dortmund-Ems Canal are u. a. two former and two current access structures in the Waltrop lock park , which ensure the traffic on the higher section to Dortmund. The decision to build the Datteln-Hamm Canal went hand in hand with the decision in 1905 to build a water extraction point for water from the Lippe near Hamm to feed the apex , in order to extract an average of 10 m³ / second from the Lippe. The Lippe was the only river above the West German canal network from which it was even possible to have a free gradient. From the completion of the Datteln-Hamm Canal in 1914, significant water management problems in the Lippe below Hamm became apparent: the water flow sank to 4 m³ / second in dry years. The Lippeverband , founded in 1926, had to look for solutions and was finally able to limit the withdrawal rate from 1938 to 7.5 m³ / second in agreements with the centralized Reich waterway administration responsible since 1921. As a result of the rapid industrial development of the Ruhr area since the late 19th century and especially after the Second World War were for the mining industry considerable amounts of process water and energy and industrial water needs, which did not require the same treatment as hygienic drinking water. Accordingly, z. B. service water is taken from the Lippe, which not only led to a further lack of water in the Lippe, but also to considerable heat loads due to re-introduced cooling water and, together with municipal discharges, to ecological problems. Negotiations of the Lippeverband with the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal waterway administration finally led to a renewed increase in the extraction rate from the Lippe for the Datteln-Hamm Canal in 1968 , but a minimum discharge in the Lippe of 10 m³ / second must be guaranteed. A first chain of pumping stations had been built over the locks of the Rhine-Herne Canal , which pumped water from the Rhine and the Ruhr estuary (via a connecting canal) up into the West German canal network. This and other pumping stations should also compensate for water losses (through seepage, evaporation and sluicing) and create additional options for supplying industry and the energy sector with service water from the canals. The financing of further pumping stations was transferred to the newly founded Water Association West German Canals (WWK). The members were recruited from representatives of the Lippe Association , the water drawers and public water supply companies; Planning, construction and operation of the required pumping stations were taken over by the Federal Waterway Administration. The pumping stations, which were completed between 1973 and 1988, were then able to convey both “upwards” (Rhine water to feed the Lippe in Hamm, e.g. in dry summers) and “downwards” (open water pipes with higher water levels in the Lippe to feed the canals). In total, there have been two pumping station systems since then, one over the Rhine-Herne Canal and one over the Wesel-Datteln Canal and then further over the Datteln-Hamm Canal, centrally monitored by the Datteln remote control center .

present

Although the Lippe is still used for flow cooling by power plant operators and the West German canals are also used for service water, water consumption is declining here overall. Circular economy, increasing energy efficiency of industrial plants and the energy turnaround with a decline in coal-fired power generation, which was prevalent in the past, relieve the river and the return of heated water into the Lippe has been regulated much more strictly. Improved municipal wastewater treatment and the decline in mining tend to have positive effects on water management. The water demand of shipping on the West German canals is still essential. Against water losses from evaporation, seepage and for the operation of the locks i. 500 million m³ are fed in. The amount would be even greater if the water draining from the locks were not repeatedly pumped up and used again during bottlenecks. The coverage of the water requirement of approx. 800 million m³ / year comes mainly from the Lippe region and the Ruhr. Up to 25 m³ / second can be taken from the Lippe today, but on the condition that at least 10 m³ / second remain in the river. If the natural water flow drops below this value, the Lippe receives up to 4.5 m³ / second from the canals for low water accumulation. The supply of the channels is the normal case. In 2019 they received 181 million m³ of water from Lippe and Ruhr on 199 days. The enrichment of the lip has become increasingly necessary due to the dry summers of recent years. After the record year 2018 with 43.1 million m³ of water on 146 days, 40.0 million m³ of water were transferred into the river on 164 days in 2019, which corresponds to approx. 740% of the long-term average of 5.4 million m³.

Drinking water

The Stever , a tributary of the Lippe, is also enriched from the Dortmund-Ems Canal when the water level is low and is of great importance for the drinking water supply of the northern Ruhr area . A few km below the discharge point of the canal water from the Dortmund-Ems canal near Senden (Westphalia) into the Stever, it is dammed in the Hullern dam and the Haltern reservoir with a total of 32 million m³ of storage capacity. About two thirds of the Stever are passed on below the lakes to the Lippe, one third of the water is used here by Gelsenwasser AG for groundwater enrichment and drinking water extraction, totaling around 129 million m³ / year . The Munsteraner Stadtwerke also promotes canal water from the Dortmund-Ems Canal in order to enrich the groundwater for drinking water production. In total, approx. 250 million m³ of drinking water from the Ruhr via pipeline networks into the area around the canals The regionally diversified origin and production of drinking water - transferred water from the Ruhr and Rhine, various groundwater extraction points, enrichment through seeping canal water - ensures constant availability of high quality drinking water in the Ruhr area and Münsterland . In this way, other resources could be used more intensively (e.g. the infiltration of canal water) even in the event of problems with individual extraction systems (e.g. increased pollutant content in individual groundwater wells).

Domestic water

Along the shipping canals, industrial and commercial enterprises use around 60 million m³ annually for cooling, production, irrigation and for the aforementioned groundwater recharge for drinking water extraction. Regular measurements by the State Environment Agency in North Rhine-Westphalia as well as by individual users show that not only the qualitative minimum requirements are met, but Partly also according to leaflet W 251 of the German Gas and Water Association on "Suitability of flowing waters for drinking water supply". The canal network in the densely populated Ruhr area with its high water quality has been a topic in science and public discussions about the utilization of the banks and possibilities for urban design with water, also against the background of climate change, since the beginning of the 1990s as part of the international building exhibition Emscher Park .

Members and sets

As of December 31, 2017, members of the WWK are:

  • the Lippeverband (with a focus on improving the water flow from the Lippe),
  • 35 Sewer water drawers (industrial and commercial enterprises)
  • Public water supply company as a collector of sewer water for drinking water treatment and as a supplier of process water to third parties.

Interested parties with a low need for water can carry out minor withdrawals without direct membership, but then have to forego withdrawals in favor of the "ordinary" members in the event of extreme water scarcity. The withdrawal of consumption water ranges between 500 m³ / year for a swimming pool and 15 million m³ / year for a power plant. In total, they are around 60 million m³ / year with a downward trend. The technically possible maximum supply volume of 400 million m³ / year has not yet been exhausted. The delivery of canal water to enrich the Haltern Reservoir and Hullern Dam for the drinking water supply fluctuates depending on the annual rainfall, e.g. B. in 1976 with 11.5 million m³ or in wet years nothing at all. For the withdrawal of consumption water (which has to be disposed of as wastewater after use), 0.0353 € / m³ is currently charged, for service water (which may be heated after use and returned to the sewer in a different amount) one thirtieth is charged this amount will be collected. The price covers the costs incurred by the federal government for the operation and maintenance of the pumping stations as well as for the passage of the water through the canals.

List of attachments

  • Transition structure to the Lippe in Hamm 1972
  • Oberhausen pumping station 1974
  • Gelsenkirchen pumping station in 1975
  • Wanne-Eickel pumping station in 1977
  • Herne-Ost pumping station 1979
  • Hamm-Werries pumping station in 1981
  • Friedrichsfeld pumping station in 1982
  • Hünxe pumping station in 1982
  • Duisburg-Meiderich pumping station 1982
  • Remote control center Datteln 1984
  • Transfer structure to the Stever in Senden 1985
  • Dorsten pumping station 1985
  • Flaesheim pumping station 1986
  • Ahsen pumping station in 1988
  • Datteln pumping station in 1988

swell

  1. ↑ [Agreement on the improvement of the river Lippe, the supply of water to the West German shipping canals and the water supply from them of August 8, 1968 (GV. NW. 1968 S 343) amended on December 22, 1972 (GV. NW. 1973 p. 63 )]
  2. ↑ a b Approval of water abstraction and drainage from the West German shipping canals, RdErl. D. Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry IA 4 - 605 / 1-11889 of July 11, 1984
  3. ↑ Law on Water and Soil Associations (Water Association Act - WVG) of February 12, 1991 ( Federal Law Gazette I p. 405 ) in the version published on May 23, 2002
  4. ↑ a b Statutes of the Water Association West German Canals WWK of December 3, 1969, published in the Official Gazette for the Düsseldorf administrative district No. 50 a), amended on January 13, 1972 (Official Journal for the Düsseldorf administrative district, p. 39)
  5. ↑ a b Internet presence of the remote control center Datteln
  6. ↑ Website of the Federal Waterway Administration
  7. ↑ a b c Lippeverband (self-published): "50 Years Lippeverband", Dortmund / Essen 1975
  8. ↑ Website of the Directorate General for Waterways and Shipping - West Branch
  9. ↑ Agreement on the improvement of the river Lippe, the supply of water to the West German shipping canals and the water supply from them of August 8, 1968 (GV.NW. 1968 p. 343) amended on December 22, 1972 (GV. NW. 1973 p. 63 )
  10. ↑ Press release of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, 2006
  11. ↑ NRW river basins / Lower Rhine result, Ministry of Environment NRW ( Memento of the original from December 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / daten.flussgebiete.nrw.de
  12. ↑ Feeding the West German sewer network / shipping canals for water supply; Brochure from the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration and the West German Canals Water Association, 2010
  13. ↑ a b c d “If you need industrial water”, brochure of the WWK, 2003
  14. ↑ Annual report 2014/2015 of the Lippeverband, published at the association assembly on December 3, 2015 in Kamen
  15. ↑ Agreement on the construction and extraction of the DEK-Stever water transfer at Senden dated November 18, 1983
  16. ↑ Publication of the water supplier Gelsenwasser AG, July 2013
  17. ↑ Factsheet Stadtwerke Münster, July 2015 ( Memento from December 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ^ Action program Dorsten between Wesel-Datteln-Canal and Lippe, 2015
  19. ^ City of Hamm, Perspective City Center 2030, 2015
  20. ↑ University of Dortmund LODE_PORT - International Excellence School of Innovative Approaches in Regeneration Planning and Design of Low Density Urbanized Polycentric Regions in Transformation, 2012
  21. ↑ Joint project KuLaRuhr Sustainable Urban Cultural Landscape in the Ruhr Metropolis, 2014
  22. ↑ WWK annual report, 2014
  23. ^ Framework usage agreement between the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration and WWK dated September 9, 1971