Dams in North Rhine-Westphalia: The heavy rain also pushes the reservoirs to their limits. When they are full, an important flood protection system fails.
Cologne – Since Tuesday, storms and heavy rain in North Rhine-Westphalia * have flooded streets and cellars, in Düsseldorf an entire settlement had to be cleared *, streams and rivers burst their banks. The dams around the Rhineland and the Ruhr area collect large amounts of water as huge reservoirs. But even those are reaching their limits in the face of the storm. The well-known Möhne reservoir, for example, is already 98 percent full.
On Wednesday afternoon (July 14th) the total of eight reservoirs of the Ruhrverband (including Möhnetalsperre, Biggetalsperre, Sorpealsperre) were around 95 percent, said spokesman Markus Rüdel to 24RHEIN *. “The dams are equipped for this,” emphasizes Rüdel. All dams have an emergency overflow through which the water is drained away without causing damage if the dams fill up. 24RHEIN reports where the water masses then flow and where people have to be careful. (bs) * 24RHEIN is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
