DE_Hochwasser

Flood protection in Breese, Germany

In the past two decades, both extreme rainfall lasting several days and heavy thaw in the low mountain ranges have repeatedly led to devastating flood events in Germany and Europe. The communities along the River Elbe are particularly affected by flooding. This is also true for Breese, located in the county Prignitz, which was immensely affected during the latest floodings in 2013.

Breese is located 3 km from the River Elbe and the course of the River Stepenitz, a tributary of the Elbe, flows to within 400 m of the municipality. Due to past extreme flood events and the lack of suitable flood protection designed for high water levels, there was a need for dyke improvement. At the same time, a 1.2 km stretch of the planned 3.5 m high dyke was envisaged to be used as a bypass for the municipality.

AFRY undertook the planning of the backwater dykes, as well as the extension of the Stepenitz, which was designed lake-like for flood events, including all necessary hydraulic and hydrologic calculations. Synergies could be optimised, as AFRY experts were also involved at the early stage in the local bypass with routing and nature conservation planning.

The last construction phase will soon be executed and after more than 10 years of planning and building, the whole assignment will be completed in 2021.

Contact Ralf Janyga

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