Reducing the Vulnerability of Societies to Water Related Risks at the Basin Scale (Proceedings of the third International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management, Bochum, Germany, September 2006). IAHS Publ. 317, 2007, 305–311.

Operational flood protection management in the Ruhr River catchment basin in Germany: challenges and limitations

GERD MORGENSCHWEIS & CHRISTIAN HEITEFUSS

Ruhrverband (Ruhr River Association), Reservoir Division, Kronprinzenstr. 37, D-45128 Essen, Germany

gmo@ruhrverband.de

Abstract The Ruhr River Association (in German: Ruhrverband) successfully operates a flood management system using the retention capacity of the reservoirs in the Ruhr catchment basin to avoid flooding in the cities along the rivers Ruhr and Lenne. Nevertheless, additional model calculations have revealed that the flood protection effect of the existing reservoir system is limited to floods with a return period of 50 years or less. For this reason, flood action plans have been developed in order to assess the risk of flooding with return periods of 100 years and more. As part of these flood action plans, so-called focal points were identified, the flood damage potential was determined, and flood mitigation measures were proposed. By presenting the experience gained with the use of a reservoir system to achieve flood control in the catchment basin of the Ruhr River, the paper shows both the possibilities and limitations of such a system.

Key words flood action plan; flood forecasting; flood protection; flood risk; hydrological models; operational flood control; water management