The River Elbe Case Studies ecomed publishers D Land - PDF document

The River ElbeCase Studies 22222 (3) 112 – 116 (2002)Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Department of Economy and Labour, Port and River Engineering Department, Czech Republic and then through central and northern Ger-which makes a comprehensive treatment necessary, and it isDespite having been a heavily polluted river, the Elbe standsborder. The Elbe has not been canalized, and only a few me- cantly. In the transition zone between freshwater systems and theburden of history. An overall (contaminated) management strat-egy should be developed in the context of the European WaterElbe; Hamburg; sediments; Spittelwasser; Water Framework1The River BasinElbe River basin*Axel Netzband gave a keynote lecture during the SedNet Inaugural Con-ference, April 22–24, 2002, which forms the basis of this article. Case StudiesThe River Elbe22222 (3) 2002 , 2/3 in Germany, 1/3 in CzechRepublic, less than 1% in either Austria or Poland. Important tribu-taries are Moldau / Vltava, Havel, and Saale, each comprising a 1,091 km, 727 km in Germany, 364 km in theCzech Republic. in Germany(31% of total population), 6 million in the Czech Republic (58% ofinfluence border is about 10 days for the first 942 km, but 36 daysfor the remaining 149 km, with tidal influence.2The History of the Contamination(Erzgebirge). Tanning and paper-making also did not im-prove water quality. But of course there is no data aboutWith industrialization, many heavy and chemical industriesI believe almost certainly that a water rat, which has never-sees such destruction of the organisms living in the water."treatment facilities in the 19th century, but the problem ingeneral continued for another century. The city of Dresdenin East Germany, with a population of about 500,000, re-aged in a flood in 1987. Many communities in East Ger-ment area, and it encompassed over half of the East Ger-included pulp and paper, chemical, and pharmaceutical fa-3Development since 1989dustrial and agricultural complexes of the former commu-per, and leather-processing industries.Czech Republic, respectively. The necessary investment wasTable shows the results of the efforts in industrial waste- Discharge Tons/year Reduction 1999 to 1994 COD 37,570 50.4% Nitrogen 8,525 65.1% Zinc 125 60.0% Chromium 13 84.3% Nickel 7 89.6% Trichloromethane 4 67.3% AOX 427 64.1% EDTA 85 93.3% Industrial discharge reductionpose potential threats to both ground and surface water. Thechemical complex and the former VEB-Leuna-Werke, thelargest industrial chemical plant of East Germany. Major The River ElbeCase Studies22222 (3) 20024Survey of Water and Sediment Qualitysediments of the West German part of the Elbe River wasGerman-German border. In the early 1980's at that border inof the development over time. Today there are more of thesetions, 5 in the Czech Republic and 12 in Germany.other parameters also improved significantly.5Sediments – Problems and Solutions5.1Port of Hamburging has a century long tradition. Traditionally, the dredged Mercury concentrations in fresh sediments in Schnackenburg, formerGerman-German border. Roman numbers are quality classes (risingTogether with many other measuring campaigns during the shows a core from a site in East Germany. Arsenicarsenic, mercury, and zinc for the mid-1970s and a steady Sediment core from 'Bucher Brack', Tangermnde (from PrangeMETHA Treatment plant in Hamburg Case StudiesThe River Elbe22222 (3) 2002year. Its products, besides smaller amounts of coarse materi-Trials have shown, part of the silt is used beneficially as acation. Trials have showed that this is a feasible possibilitythe river. With this technology, sediment coming from theon the river flow, between 2 and 5 million mdredged annually. 1.4 Million m5.2SpittelwasserChemical Triangle, one of the largest industrial complexesof the 19th century, industrial process water had never beenfavours sedimentation. Today the Spittelwasser containssediments down to the Hamburg harbour, a distance of about6Handling of Sediments and Dredged Materialtions along the river. river. Contaminants are spread and diluted at the sametamination is low, compared to upstream concentrations,Contamination of fresh sediments (monthly samples) from the Czech-German border in Schmilka (right) to the sea in Cuxhaven (lef The River ElbeCase Studies22222 (3) 2002chemical company. Spending 150,000 Euro, two settling ba-proach to get things done. Available funds for ecologicalcontaminants are already diluted and spread over large ar-7Outlookent on the specific local circumstances. Now, the EuropeanWater Framework Directive demands a holistic river basinapproach when considering the water resources. However,riverine inputs seem to be taken into account insufficiently.Sediments do not fit well into the, until now, rather definedland (governed by different guidelines), they behave differ-may fit into the context of the European Water Frame-Adams M-S, Ballin U, Gaumert T, Hale B-W, Kausch H, Kruse RAckermann F, Stammerjohann D (1997): History of heavy metalReceived: September 4th, 2002