Weser deepening
The deepening of the Weser was a series of hydraulic engineering measures on the Lower and Outer Weser to improve navigability. The further deepening of the Weser navigation channel planned in 2012 is supported by the federal government and the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen for economic reasons; Critics doubt the economic advantages and / or fear ecological disadvantages. The debate about deepening the Weser takes place in a political environment in which other deepening projects are also pending. The respective judgments are also considered to point the way for the planned deepening of the Elbe . Adjustment of the fairways of the Outer Weser and the Lower Weser (north) is part of the Measures Act Preparation Act of March 22, 2020.
In addition, an expansion of the Mittelweser is planned with the aim that from 2013 inland vessels with a length of 110 meters will be able to sail between Bremen and Minden . The expansion will cost around 270 million euros; it should make the waterway more attractive for freight traffic and secure the existing traffic. Several lawsuits are pending before the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwG) against the deepening of the Weser . On July 11, 2013, the court stayed the trial. The court turned to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with a list of questions. This should clarify whether the major project is compatible with the EU Water Framework Directive . In mid-2015, the European Court of Justice ruled that a deterioration in the overall condition of the river is not permitted. The proponents, however, see an overriding economic interest and want to challenge the judgment.
geography
The Weser has a funnel mouth (like the Elbe , Thames and Scheldt , for example ).
The Lower Weser from the Bremen Weser weir in Hastedt to the confluence with the North Sea is subject to the tides . It is the transition area from the inland waterway to the sea waterway . Since 1867 the bridge on the Bremen – Oldenburg railway line has served as the border between the two. In Bremerhaven at the mouth of the Geeste , the Lower Weser ends and the inner Outer Weser begins.
The Outer Weser is the continuation of the estuary of the Weser in the Wadden Sea, which runs in a south-east-north-west direction . The Outer Weser cuts through the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park . Two tidal flats located one behind the other in the Outer Weser (the Robbenplate and the Tegeler Plate) divide it into two arms: Wurster Arm and Tegeler Rinne in the northeast and Fedderwarder fairway and Hohewegrinne in the southwest. Today the western arm is used as the main fairway. The seaward boundary as an inland waterway to the North Sea ends approximately at the level of the Misselwarden municipality . The outer outer Weser begins here with the North Sea sea waterway .
history
In the 18/19. Century silted the river Weser increasingly; the ports of Bremen became inaccessible for larger seagoing vessels . In the port of Vegesack, which belongs to Bremen and is 20 kilometers downstream, the goods were temporarily reloaded onto smaller barges or barges, which brought the goods to the Bremen ports. When the port of Vegesack also threatened to silt up, a correction of the Weser became necessary for economic reasons.
The hydraulic engineer Ludwig Franzius had worked in Bremen as senior construction director since 1875. He is considered a pioneer in straightening and deepening the Weser between the confluence with the North Sea near Bremerhaven and the ports in Bremen - the so-called Weser correction . In 1881 a plan was presented that provided for a deepening of the Weser for ships with a draft of up to 5 meters, which should reach the ports of Bremen in one pass at high tide . The experiences from a flood of the Weser in 1880/81 also influenced the preparations for the structural project. From 1883 to 1886 the first measures were taken with the piercing of the long bay. Work on the Weser correction began in 1887 and was completed in the first construction phase by 1895.
The expansion of the Lower Weser resulted in deep erosion of the Weser with considerable sand discharge. The tidal range rose from around 0.8 to 1 meter (Weserbrücken gauge) to 5 meters today ( Oslebshausen gauge ). The Weser weir was built in Bremen-Hastedt from 1906 to 1911 in order to prevent the erosion of the riverbed into the Central Weser. Another consequence was that the former Weser island Fährplate opposite Elsfleth was connected to the right bank by the Weser correction. The area, which has been inhabited since at least the 18th century, now belongs to the village of Rade in the municipality of Schwanewede .
Expansion of the Weser
Mittelweser
From 2013 onwards, barges with a length of 110 meters should be able to sail on the Weser between Bremen and Minden. The expansion, which cost 270 million euros, should make the waterway more attractive for freight traffic. Large motor cargo ships with a draft of 2.5 meters can then reach the Mittelland Canal from Bremen via Minden . Part of the expansion of the Mittelweser are 19 bank relocations, i.e. H. Widening of the river. In addition, the deepening and widening of three lock channels and the expansion and upgrading of three lock outer ports are necessary for the project. Seven regulation routes are to be set up to regulate traffic. A new construction of the locks Dörverden and Minden, where a new lock will complement the existing shaft lock , is also planned.
Lower Weser
Between Bremerhaven and Bremen, on the 57 kilometers of the Weser, bulk carriers in particular should be able to better call at the ports in Brake and Bremen. The fairway deepening at Bremerhaven is to be made from 12.8 meters to 13.5 meters, at Brake from 11.9 meters to 12.8 meters and at Bremen from 10.7 meters to 11.1 meters.
Outer Weser
From Bremerhaven to the North Sea, the 65-kilometer-long shipping channel of the Outer Weser is to be deepened so that Bremerhaven can be reached by large container ships regardless of the tide . The requested expansion of the Outer Weser from the North Sea to Bremerhaven is intended to deepen it to 15.5 meters, as not all ships can reach the port regardless of the tide. The fairway of the Outer Weser is to be deepened seaward by 1 meter from Bremerhaven in order to enable container terminals to reach the Bremerhaven container terminal regardless of the tide with a draft of 13.5 meters (currently 12.8 meters).
Effects on the river structure
River depressions are always associated with serious changes in the course of the flow and thus the structure of the river. The tidal range in the Weser in particular has risen dramatically since the first expansion steps. The reason is the unimpeded and fast passage of the tidal wave through the straightened and deepened river bed . In Bremen at the Great Weser Bridge (today Wilhelm-Kaisen-Brücke) the tidal range was around 50 cm on average around 1880. Today it is 4.2 m with an upward trend. In order to secure the banks, the Weser is therefore largely forced into a structure of stone fillings and sheet piling in the Bremen city area .
Tributaries of the Weser are also affected by hydraulic engineering measures on the main stream: especially on the tidal Wümme and the right tributary of the Weser , the riverside belt is destroyed by an increased level. Areas with reeds and willow bushes will be damaged and fewer birds and insects will occur there. In the meantime, stone pouring has been found at many of the banks to secure the dike. Residents of the Wümme stated that the tidal range has increased significantly since 2007. In 2002 it was 1.2 meters on the Wümme. In 2012 it was 2.8 meters. Along with the rising water level is a lowering of the groundwater .
| place | Previous maximum draft | Future maximum draft |
|---|---|---|
| Bremerhaven | 12.8 meters | 13.5 meters |
| Brake | 11.9 meters | 12.8 meters |
| Bremen | 10.7 meters | 11.1 meters |
Ecological importance
The mouth of the Weser near Bremerhaven, like many estuaries, is one of the most biodiverse habitats in the world. Estuaries comprise the section of the river where the ebb and flow of the tide act and the fresh water mixes with the salty sea water to form brackish water . In their natural state, reed belts and tidal flats line the course of the river, which splits into numerous tributaries. Islands and extensive flood plains form and eventually form a wide funnel into the sea.
Reasons for deepening
Lower Saxony and Bremen see the expansion as economically important so that large ships can head for the ports of Bremen, Bremerhaven and Brake fully loaded. The beneficiaries of the project include the Bremen steelworks and the agricultural sector, which purchase ores and animal feed from the ports . In addition, the ports improve their competitiveness compared to competitors such as Rotterdam and Antwerp . The ports of Bremen are currently in fourth place in the European competition for container handling with 5,529,000 TEU (2008) annually - after Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp.
In the Minden region, the expansion of the Weser creates the conditions for the RegioPort Weser , which is yet to be built, and the port belt on the Mittelland Canal.
Proponents of deepening point out the central importance of the Weser for the connection of Lower Saxony's sea and inland ports.
In mid-2011 it became known that the CDU / FDP federal government would like to categorize the federal German waterways in a so-called “modernization concept” in order to downsize the structure of the federal water and shipping authorities . The Weser should be downgraded to the "water tourism route". One reason for this is the limited navigability of the Weser. Criticism of this proposal came from various quarters. Sabine Tippelt ( SPD -MdL) said: "Anyone who wants that fails to recognize the existing potential of the Weser as an inland waterway and endangers an ecological transport policy in Lower Saxony". It would offer the possibility of relieving the highways and rail freight routes and must therefore be preserved for the transport infrastructure in Lower Saxony from an ecological point of view.
Should the water and shipping administration on the Weser be weakened, the proponents of deepening fear that the federal government will no longer invest in the Weser and that the financial gap would lead to silting up of the Weser.
costs
The federal government and the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen are to contribute to the costs of the package of measures.
Of this, the deepening of the Lower Weser is expected to cost 50 million euros.
A general plan for the Wesermarsch (GPW) to avoid damage to the environment and agriculture is in progress for a further 50 million euros (other sources 86.5 million euros).
The GPW is intended to prevent the feared salinisation of agricultural areas and create a new irrigation and drainage system. Lower Saxony intends to cover the majority of the costs with 37.5 million euros, the rest is to be shared by Bremen, the federal government and the water boards. A total of 50 million euros is estimated.
The cost-benefit ratio (KNV) of the Unterweser expansion was calculated as part of the federal transport route planning. In the original cost-benefit calculation, a KNV of 1:26 is determined. In the current Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030, the Unterweser expansion is also the project with the most profitable KNV. However, hardly any environmental impacts are recorded. If only a few of the effects of the expansion of the Lower Weser on the ecosystem are taken into account, then the KNV will already sink to the limit of profitability.
Interest groups
economy
The resident port industry is especially important for deepening. The larger freighters that call at the ports of the Lower Weser have more draft. Some fully loaded freighters can only reach the ports safely at high tide. After deepening, the transport costs could be reduced and the competitiveness compared to ports such as Rotterdam or Antwerp improved. The construction of the JadeWeserPort is also not enough.
politics
The further deepening of the Weser navigation channel planned in 2012 is supported by the Federal Republic of Germany and the states of Lower Saxony and Bremen for economic reasons.
Associations of the regional maritime industry as well as the political factions of the CDU, FDP, the Free Voters and large parts of the SPD consider the deepening to be economically necessary. The then SPD Prime Minister candidate in the state elections in Lower Saxony in 2013 , Stephan Weil , spoke out in favor of deepening after a legal examination and is a supporter of the expansion after his election as Prime Minister.
Bremen's mayor Jens Böhrnsen (SPD) spoke out in favor of deepening the Weser. The ports are the "economic powerhouse in the state of Bremen". In summer 2013, he called for the competitiveness of the Bremerhaven container terminal to be permanently secured.
Lower Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs, Olaf Lies (SPD), said: “A timely deepening of the Weser is important in the interests of the Lower Saxony port industry and for the further development of the port of Brake in particular. Because it's about jobs in Lower Saxony and in the ports of Bremen. "
The Greens in the state of Bremen as well as in Lower Saxony are against the project. The Lower Saxony Environment Minister Stefan Wenzel (Greens) assessed the court's decision to stop planning in 2013 as positive.
Citizens and nature conservation associations
Mainly ecological reasons are given against a deepening of the Weser. Agriculture fears that the sea salt content in the river water will continue to rise and that the Weser water would be unusable as drinking water for cattle. Environmental groups fear a deterioration of habitats for birds, fish and bank plants. For economic reasons, reference is made to the new JadeWeserPort deep-water port. The dyke associations fear that the bank will be more stressed due to the faster currents and the greater tidal range. Some communities fear the loss of their beaches on the banks of the Weser.
Some nature conservation associations and the citizens 'initiative "keineWeservertiefung - citizens' initiative against the Weser deepening" are against the planned expansion steps. They also point out that only two companies will benefit from the expansion of the Unterweser ( Stahlwerke Bremen and another company near Bremerhaven). Regional divisions of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen reject the deepening and advised the municipality of Nordenham to hold on to their lawsuit against the deepening of the Weser. The BUND -Landesverband Bremen and regional NABU groups are also campaigning against deepening .
Legal process
Legal action at the Federal Administrative Court
In August 2012, residents of the tidal Wümme, a border river between Bremen and Lower Saxony, filed a lawsuit with the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig against the expansion. On September 25, 2012, a hearing on the matter was held before the Federal Administrative Court. In this, the Waterways and Shipping Directorate Northwest declared the suspension of the planning approval decision for the expansion of the Outer Weser and the expansion of the Lower Weser, which initially settled the pending proceedings for preliminary legal protection. The complaints of the BUND regional association of Bremen as well as of farmers and a municipality in the main matter are to be negotiated orally and decided from the second quarter of 2013. It is viewed critically that the dredging measures for both the Lower Weser and the Outer Weser were combined as a joint project. Instead of three separate environmental impact assessments for the relevant sections of the Weser (North Sea – Bremerhaven, Bremerhaven – Brake and Brake – Bremen) there was only one.
Referral to the European Court of Justice
In June 2015, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) put a stop to deepening plans in their previously planned form (ECJ, case C-461/13). The EU Water Framework Directive prevents further dredging of a navigable river. The so-called deterioration prohibition states that the water quality of European waters must not deteriorate. It must be taken into account in every individual project and is not just a general political target, declared the ECJ. However, there could be exceptions under strict conditions, provided there is an overriding, public interest. The judgment has a signaling effect beyond the subject of dispute about the deepening of the Weser . For the nature conservation associations BUND , NABU and WWF , the judgment represents “a milestone for water protection throughout Europe and has a direct impact on the procedure on the Tidal Elbe ”. The advocates of deepening, to which the Bremen and Lower Saxony state governments also belong, see such an overriding economic interest.
See: ECJ decision on deepening the Weser
literature
- Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany : Ems, Weser, Elbe - the same applies to all ... River deepening and its consequences. ( PDF file )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Deepening of the Weser at www.bund-bremen.net ( Memento from July 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/oldenburg_ostfriesland/Weservertiefung-EuGH-macht-strenge-Auflagen-,weservertiefung152.html
- ↑ NDR.de ( Memento from July 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Wümme residents go to court , Nordwest-Zeitung , August 28, 2012, accessed on September 6, 2012
- ↑ Dispute in the Weser Deepening: What for - and what speaks against it, Radio Bremen homepage ( Memento from October 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Stefan Koch: The way is cleared for large ships (subject to a charge), Mindener Tageblatt , July 29, 2010, accessed on September 6, 2012
- ↑ Sharp criticism of the downgrading of the Weser ( memento of August 22, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) , Deister and Weser newspaper , June 16, 2011, accessed on September 6, 2012
- ↑ Lower Saxony and Bremen agree on deepening the Weser , DVZ , July 28, 2011
- ↑ Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2030 (PDF) Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, accessed on February 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Hans Goebl: Methodical deficits in the area of Romansh. Critical remarks on the state of the sociolinguistic discussion around the Dolomite Ladin. In: Sociolinguistica . tape 4 , no. 1 , January 31, 1990, ISSN 1865-939X , doi : 10.1515 / 9783110245097.19 .
- ^ Nils Droste, Jasper N. Meya: Ecosystem services in infrastructure planning - a case study of the projected deepening of the Lower Weser river in Germany . In: Journal of Environmental Planning and Management . tape 60 , no. 2 , May 16, 2016, ISSN 0964-0568 , p. 231–248 , doi : 10.1080 / 09640568.2016.1151405 .
- ↑ http://www.ndr.de/regional/niedersachsen/oldenburg/weser199.html ( Memento from July 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Greens call for legal action against Weser deepening , Nordwest-Zeitung, September 22, 2011, accessed on September 6, 2012
- ↑ See the press release of the BVerwG [1]
- ↑ Weser deepening: court complains about mistakes in planning . In: Daily port report of May 16, 2013, p. 15
- ↑ Press release of the Lebendige Tideelbe action alliance from BUND, NABU, WWF: After the ECJ judgment: Elbe deepening cannot be approved without further improvement measures. Hamburg, July 2, 2015