The Steinbachtal Dam (german: Steinbachtalsperre) is a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

in the city of

Euskirchen Euskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Öskerche'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted to ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

south of .

History

The dam was built due to pressure from the Euskirchen cloth industry, who by the late 1920s was no longer able to meet its water needs from the natural streams in the area. Problems included the water quality, which was heavily polluted by waste from the

Mechernich Mechernich (, ksh, Meischernisch) is a town in the district of Euskirchen in the south of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the "Naturpark Nordeifel" in the Eifel hills, approx. 15 km south-west of Euskirchen a ...

lead mining industry. Additionally, the amount of water available was no longer sufficient to drive the turbines for hydroelectric power.Gundula Lang: ''Das Nützliche mit dem Schönen verbinden: Das Waldschwimmbad an der Steinbachtalsperre bei Euskirchen-Kirchheim.'' 2008. The Steinbach Reservoir Association (german: Zweckverband Steinbachtalsperre) was founded in 1933 to carry out the construction and ongoing operation of the dam. Construction work began in February 1934 and finished in 1936. A 16 km cast-iron pipeline, was built to transport the water to the town of Euskirchen and

Kuchenheim Euskirchen (; Ripuarian: ''Öskerche'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the district Euskirchen. While Euskirchen resembles a modern shopping town, it also has a history dating back over 700 years, having been granted to ...

. The lake, which has a maximum depth of 17.4m, is now a popular local recreation area. The dam structure of the reservoir was made of coarse-stone with a clay seal on the water side. It is operated by the Zweckverband Steinbachtalsperre/Wasserversorgungsverband Euskirchen-Swisttal. From September 1988 to 1990, the dam was

redeveloped Redevelopment is any new construction on a site that has pre-existing uses. It represents a process of land development uses to revitalize the physical, economic and social fabric of Urban area, urban space. Description Variations on redevelopme ...

. Recommissioning began on 27 April 1990. The water side was equipped with a 0.80 m thick concrete layer and two

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

layers.

2021 flood

During the continuous rain in mid-July 2021 the spillways capacity was to small and the earthen dam over-topped for around three hours. Large parts of the air side washed away and the dam was in danger of bursting due to the heavy load. Therefore, about 15,000 residents of the villages , , several villages in Swisttal and the Rheinbach districts Niederdrees and Oberdrees located below had to be evacuated. Potential evacuations were announced for other regions along the Erft, especially Erftstadt and

Kerpen Kerpen (; Ripuarian: ''Kerpe'') is the most populated town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). It is located about 20 kilometres southwest from Cologne. Division of the town The town of Kerpen was created in 1975, whe ...

. The stones washed away from the dam settled below the bottom outlet and blocked it. The situation calmed down after the blockage was able to be resolved and a controlled outflow was made possible; additionally several units of the fire brigade and the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) pumped out water. Evacuation was lifted after five days when the reservoir was nearly empty.

Bibliography

* Andreas Dix: ''Industrialisierung und Wassernutzung. Eine historisch-geographische Umweltgeschichte der Tuchfabrik Ludwig Müller in Kuchenheim'' (= ''Beiträge zur Industrie- und Sozialgeschichte.'' Bd. 7). Rheinland-Verlag GmbH, Köln 1997, ISBN 3-7927-1600-3 (Zugleich: Bonn, Univ., Diss., 1993). * , Format: PDF, KBytes: 871

Gallery

Steinbachtalsperre Staumauer.jpg, View of the dam in northeastern direction. Steinbachtalsperre NRW Infotafel.jpg, Information board at the dam NRW-Hausbrauerei-Steinbachtalsperre-aussen-2.jpg, Forest restaurant at the dam Steinbachtalsperre001.JPG, Evening atmosphere at the Steinbach dam Steinbachtalsperre (Nordrhein-Westfalen) 001x.jpg, Aerial view, 2015

References

External links

{{commons category, Steinbachtalsperre (NRW)
List of dams in NRW
(PDF; 122 kB)

Dams in North Rhine-Westphalia Reservoirs in North Rhine-Westphalia Dams completed in 1936