Streams on the Brentano lake in Kranichstein are connected

• fromJens Joachim

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The city of Darmstadt and the Schwarzbachgebiet-Ried water association are having the water system in Kranichstein redesigned so that in future fish can migrate up and down the stream.

Almost four years after the start of desludging of the Brentano lake in Darmstadt’s Kranichstein district, the redesign of the water system around the lake has begun. It is planned to connect the Ruthsenbach, which flows through the lake not far from the high-rise buildings, with the neighboring Mühlbach, which currently only has very seldom water. In the past few weeks, along the Mühlbach, which runs just a stone’s throw north of Lake Brentano, a number of trees and bushes have been trimmed or completely cleared.

The city of Darmstadt and the Schwarzbachgebiet-Ried water association are responsible for the construction work, which will cost around 1.3 million euros. According to Kai Wenner, the deputy operations manager of the water association, the overriding goal of the work is to redesign the three flood retention basins in the course of the Ruthsenbach so that in future fish can migrate upstream and downstream.

The three retention basins are the Erich-Kästner-See at the Erich Kästner elementary school, the Brentano lake between Bartningstrasse and Jägertorstrasse and the Seewiese at Jakob-Jung-Strasse in the neighboring district of Arheilgen. According to Wenner, the aim of the European Water Framework Directive is to create a “linear patency” in the stretch of water between the Steinbrücker pond, southeast of Kranichstein, and the mouth of the Ruthsenbach in the Silz near Wixhausen.

On its way to the mouth of the Silz, the Ruthsenbach passes the three flood retention basins as well as various transverse and intake structures as well as culverts and bridges. Due to the large number of structures and the total length of the water section, the construction work will be carried out in three sections. The first project to begin in 2013 was the rehabilitation and desludging of the Erich-Kästner-See, east of the Brentano lake.

In the course of the following, second bundle of projects, a connecting channel between the Mühlgraben and the Ruthsenbach is to be created west of the Brentano lake and Jägertorstraße near the mogul slope for BMX cyclists. In this floodplain there is an idyllic reed landscape, which also offers birds a retreat. There are also plans to make the water more tangible for walkers, for example.

In the course of the construction work, Wenner said a structure should also be built to divide the water of the Ruthsenbach. North of the Brentano lake, the structure of the Mühlbach is also being improved. It is also planned to build a dam to the west of the Erich-Kästner-See and to rebuild the creek passage.

In the course of the construction work, Bartningstraße would also have to be temporarily closed to car and tram traffic. The construction work is expected to last until the end of November.

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