Since 2009, the European Water Framework Directive has been transposed into national law. As a result, the management objectives formulated in the directive are binding for the Federal Republic of Germany. By 2027, all natural water bodies with a catchment area of more than 10 km² are to achieve a “good status.” In addition to good chemical quality, achieving good ecological status requires, among other things, that weirs and other transverse structures be modified so that fish and aquatic microfauna (macrozoobenthos) can migrate upstream. All necessary measures to achieve these management objectives—implemented by the state, municipalities, and third parties—are summarized in the Free State of Thuringia’s State Program for Water Protection. As the body responsible for maintaining the Ilm River, the Free State of Thuringia must implement several measures within the city limits of Weimar. This presentation reports on the legal framework, the current status of implementation, and the specific measures being carried out in the Weimar urban area.

Presenters: Dipl.-Ing. Frederik Ahrens (Head of the Water Management Department, Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining, and Nature Conservation) Dipl.-Ing. Marcel Möller (Head of Hydraulic Engineering Division, Thuringian Land Development Company)

The image shows the implemented measures for establishing passability at the Burgmühle weir in Weimar.

Television images of burning forests, floods, or droughts — again and again, news of disasters breaks into our daily lives, reminding us of climate change and all its dramatic consequences. On one hand, such reports — along with uncertainty, projections, and speculation — shape our view of the future; on the other hand, climate and environmental policy often fade into the background of everyday political life. Yet the pressure to act is immense. The forecasts are becoming more pessimistic, and with the mass die-off of coral reefs, a first tipping point may already have been irreversibly reached.

How do we deal with climate change? How can we find perspectives instead of fears? And how can we start talking about climate and climate policy again? These and other questions will be discussed by Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Member of the German Bundestag for the constituency of Erfurt-Weimar, Christian Doeller, artist and lecturer at the Bauhaus University Weimar, and other guests — together with you.

The talk will be held in German.

The lecture provides an overview of various information services on floods and other natural hazards in Thuringia and Germany — from warnings and risk assessment to prevention. It offers an informative and interactive introduction to the topic and uses examples to illustrate the importance of correct actions before, during, and after flood events.

Participants: Dr. Peter Krause, Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation, Head of the Department of Hydrological State Service, Flood Warning Center. Bodo Erhardt, German Weather Service, Customer Service Department in the Weather Forecasting Division, Product Manager of the Natural Hazards Portal.

Image: Depicts the Hohenwarte Dam with active flood relief on June 4, 2013. Rights held by Dr. Krause.