Ellertshäuser See is allowed to fill up again – Bavaria

The largest reservoir in Lower Franconia, which is currently empty due to renovation work, is being dammed up again. On Thursday, the outflow of the Ellertshäuser See was closed again. However, water did not collect directly: the reservoir should only be filled by precipitation such as rain and snow. Bathers will probably not be able to use it again until 2024 at the earliest.

The reservoir near Stadtlauringen in the Schweinfurt district, which is normally up to 16 meters deep, has been almost completely dry since the end of November. The fish were transferred to an offshore lake or marketed by fishermen. One of the reasons for the renovation is an old pipe. In addition, the lake is desludged. Thanks to a new ground barrier, a kind of intermediate dam, re-damming can already begin, although the renovations are expected to continue until spring. “We are on schedule and hope that we will have a wet winter,” said Leonhard Rosentritt from the responsible water management office in Bad Kissingen.

Bavaria’s Environment Minister Thorsten Faithr (free voters) emphasized the importance of water reservoirs in times of climate change on the occasion of the re-impoundment. “Dams are true double talents – both for flood protection and for raising low water levels,” says Glauber, according to the press release.

The Ellertshäuser See was created as a reservoir in the 1950s. Today it is also used for flood protection and as a local recreation area. It is the size of about 42 football fields and, according to the authorities, normally holds 1.7 million cubic meters of water. The lake was last emptied in 1983. Thanks to the new ground closure, it will not have to be completely drained again during construction work in the future.

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