Storage not pumping
Background and Goals
The "Storage not pumping" project – a subproject of "Biosphere reserves as model regions for climate protection and adaptation" – had the objective of highlighting options to respond to climate-change-related shifts in regional water management in the North West German coastal region.
Accelerated sea level rises, along with changes in the volume and seasonal distribution of precipitation, will significantly exacerbate the situation in terms of drainage and irrigation in regions on the Lower Saxony coast. Higher external water levels and the resulting shorter periods of tidal outlet capacity or increased water volumes that need to be discharged as promptly as possible, make the additional use of pumps essential.
The project covered two main methods that were combined with one another. The spatial study provided a comprehensive pool of data in terms of the water management infrastructure, the natural geographical conditions and the land use demands of agriculture, tourism and conservation in the Lower Saxony coastal region. Based on this data, and incorporating regional climate scenarios including those drawn up as part of the Interreg IV B "Climate Proof Areas" project, initial options for action were developed for a selected potential area in conjunction with the water management sector, and were subsequently discussed and analysed in more depth with a broader-based selection of regional interest groups. Ideas ranged from specification of individual technical measures to be implemented to options involving multifunctional use with a positive effect on sustainable land management in the "Lower Saxony Wadden Sea" biosphere reserve.
The objective of the project was to identify regional climate-change-related changes in the Lower Saxony coastal region and their consequences for regional water management, and to highlight alternative options for action. A key focus was on determining development potential that is appropriate to meet future water management demands and, at the same time, to account for other land use demands, with a view to achieving sustainable development. This issue was studied both geographically and with a more narrow focus on the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea biosphere reserve concept, and also focused on sustainable development of the zone of the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea biosphere reserve to be set up landward of the dyke. Therefore, the extent to which new methods in regional water management can contribute to sustainably positive biological, cultural and economic development in the region was of critical importance.
Content time
toResearch area/region
Country
- Germany
Region of implementation (all German federal states)
- Lower Saxony
Natural spatial classification
- coasts: North Sea-/Baltic Sea coasts
- North-West German lowland
Spatial resolution
Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer
Steps in the process of adaptation to climate change
Step 1: Understand and describe climate change
Approach and results
To assess the regional changes in terms of the relevant parameters for water management, the results of the EU Interreg IVB "Climate Proof Areas" project were used. The IPCC emission scenarios A2, B2 and B1 were considered. Results (primarily for the A2 family of scenarios): Seasonal flow depth with significant increase in winter months; increasing shortage of water in summer; reduction in flow depth in summer more significant than the increase in winter; from 2050 a significant change in the seasonal water balance is expected (more pronounced in the A scenarios than in the B scenarios); considerable reduction in monthly precipitation in the summer months and increase in the winter months; the Lower Saxony coastal region is a summer rainfall region: this could reverse by the end of the century (for the A scenarios; the B scenarios show an equalisation of summer and winter precipitation).
Parameter (climate signals)
- River flooding
- Altered rainfall patterns
- Higher average temperatures
- Extreme precipitation (incl. hail, snow)
Further Parameters
precipitation, drainage, water balance
Further times
reference period 1971-2000
Step 2a: Identify and assess risks - climate effects and impact
Approach and results
In addition to faster sea level rises, changes in the volume and seasonal distribution of precipitation – drier summers, heavier precipitation in winter and increasing severe rain events – will significantly exacerbate the situation for drainage and, in some cases, irrigation of regions on the Lower Saxony coast.
Step 3: Develop and compare measures
Measures and/or strategies
The options developed with the regional water management sector are:
– Linking of water structures: connection of Southern areas of the Butjadingen drainage association to the Stadlander Sielacht drainage system;
– Dyked marshland: creation of a dyked marshland in the Northern area of the Jade drainage association;
– Creation of a bypass between the Wapeler Siel tidal outlet (with pumping station) and the Schweiburger Siel pumping station;
– Combination of the three previous measures
Time horizon
- 2021–2050 (near future)
- 2071–2100 (far future)
Conflicts / synergies / sustainability
In addition to the water management sector, for whom flood defences and safeguarding groundwater and particularly preventing (further) salination are the top priorities, there are also demands from other land users such as agriculture, conservation and tourism. Added to these are economic and structural challenges such as increased planting of fuel crops, the planned construction of the A20 coastal motorway and the planned adaptation of the Weser. The agricultural sector in particular complains of increasing competition for land and restriction of the overall agricultural usage options. Against this backdrop, concerns about the possible implementation of alternative water management concepts were also expressed.
Step 4: Plan and implement measures
Measures and/or strategies
Possible solutions and alternative actions were open discussed in the project. Performing a susceptibility analysis to assess the consequences of implementing any measures for agriculture was viewed as essential. This has led to calls for a more cooperative approach, in which future options for action on alternative water management concepts incorporate agricultural, tourism and conservation concerns, expressing the desire to intensity collaboration where appropriate.
Costs of the measures
Because of the low-lying land on the coast, most of the precipitation water can only be routed to the sea through natural drainage channels to a limited extent, if at all, and operation of cost-intensive (energy, maintenance) pumping stations is essential; the pumping costs are cited as a major source of problems for the individual drainage associations.
Participants
Funding / Financing
Supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
Project management
National Park of Lower Saxony Wadden Sea
Cooperation/Partners
University of Oldenburg, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM) and COAST - Centre for Environmental and Sustainability Research
Contact
Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer
Biosphärenreservat
Virchowstr. 1
D-26382 Wilhelmshaven
