Renaturation of the Speyerbach: Neustadt celebrates the green light!

Renaturation of the Speyerbach: Neustadt celebrates the green light!

Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Deutschland - The structure and approval directorate (SGD) South surprisingly granted the water law permit to renaturate the Speyerbach in Neustadt. As SGD President Hannes Kopf reports, the stream is redesigned over a length of about 1300 meters in the east of Neustadt. In addition, structural improvements are planned on the neighboring Rehbach, which extends over 1050 meters. These measures are part of a more comprehensive project to improve water ecology and water quality in this region, which is severely impaired by previous interventions in the natural habitats. In particular, the Speyerbach, a left tributary of the Upper Rhine, will benefit from this decision.

Details for renaturation and the water

The Speyerbach extends over a total of almost 60 km and flows through the Pfalz region in Rhineland-Palatinate. Its catchment area comprises almost 596 km² and plays a central role in the Rhein river system. The stream has an important historical and geographical importance, was previously an essential transport route for wood and materials that were needed for the construction of the Speyer Cathedral. In addition, the Speyerbach suffers from a historical piping, which has been carried out many times in recent centuries, which led to slower current and reduced biodiversity. This leads to the need to renataturize the waters, as in the reports of Die Rheinpfalz and Wikipedia highlighted.

The renaturation measures aim to create living spaces for river organisms and to increase water quality sustainably. It is important to cooperate in various places, including the Waters-Zweckverband Rehbach-Speyerbach, which was founded in 1985 to manage the waters in this region. The past centuries have shown that the Speyerbach was heavily burdened by environmental changes, such as extreme precipitation and flood events. The ongoing renovation and upgrading of its bank as well as the restoration of natural structures could make a decisive contribution to securing the ecological health of the river for future generations.