Rhine levels Lessons cancelled because of low Rhine level

BONN · The Rhine level is at a record low. Rubbish and bombs are being revealed, ferries have stopped running and the city’s trees are suffering – the low Rhine level is having an effect.

The Rhine level in Bonn is only around 80 centimetres –a record-breaking level and a strange, almost eerie sight. Here are some questions and answers about the low water level.

Can you cross the Rhine on foot?

The water police are warning against this. The water level in Bonn was 81 centimetres on Monday lunchtime. However, the shipping channel is 1.90 metres deep. According to the Water and Shipping Authority, the water level there is always around 1.09 metres higher than the daily level. Dangers also lurk in the riverbed, such as explosive relics from the Second World War. On Sunday alone, the explosive ordnance disposal unit cleared seven unexploded bombs from the banks of the Rhine in Bonn and recovered a high-explosive shell on Monday. A 50 kilo aircraft bomb had to be detonated in Cologne-Poll last week. Is the explosive ordnance disposal unit currently working overtime on the Rhine? “We have the impression that there is an increased presence due to areas now being exposed which are otherwise inaccessible,” said a spokesperson for the Düsseldorf district administration. However, there are no statistics on discovery sites.

Is the low water level revealing anything else?

Yes – for example, 25 bicycles, seven shopping trollies, three traffic signs, two large iron shelves and three fans. A number of unpleasant things were unearthed during a Cologne city rubbish collection campaign on the left Rhine bank near the Hohenzollern Bridge. Helpers removed a total of 2.5 tonnes of rubbish from the Rhine. Further initiatives are planned, said spokesperson Sabine Wotzlaw.

Have even larger items been found?

The Water and Shipping Authority is always busy when shipping is impeded. Last week, employees from Niederkassel district found and removed an iron wagon from the Rhine bed in the riverbank near Lülsdorf, says master hydraulic engineer, Markus Müller. This was at least three metres by one metre in size. They have also removed a ship’s aluminium gangplank from the river.

What about passenger transport?

Some passenger ferries have stopped operating in Lülsdorf, Bad Honnef or Nonnenwerth Island, which is in Rhineland-Palatinate. There is a secondary school on the island and lessons have been cancelled. Other ferries, such as those in Königswinter or Mondorf, are still operating. However, the ramps to the riverbank have had to be extended. The Cologne-Düsseldorfer only had three cancellations because of low water levels. The season ended at the weekend and generally went well, said spokesperson Nicole Becker.

Does the water level have other consequences?

During the worst of the summer heat, employees from the Urban Green Space Department in Bonn were out watering trees and are doing so again. When the Rhine level and therefore the ground water level falls, it is harder for plants to reach desperately needed water, says Andrea Schulte from the press office. There is at least one water lorry operating in each of the twelve garden districts.

Does the low water level affect drinking water production?

No. In Cologne, drinking water is extracted from groundwater on both the left and right sides of the Rhine. There is a certain link between the Rhine level and the groundwater level, explains Christoph Preuß, spokesperson for Rheinenergie, which is responsible for drinking water production. However, there are powerful groundwater streams in the Cologne Basin so there should not be any problems – even when there are several dry summers in a row.

(Original text: Daniela Greulich, Dominik Pieper. Translation: kc)

Meistgelesen
Neueste Artikel
Zum Thema
Aus dem Ressort