An interdisciplinary consortium of scientific and institutional partners is researching strategies for the near-natural development of the Mittelaller river in order to make it more climate-resilient in the long term.
"Around the world, rivers have been straightened and expanded to improve flood protection or e.g. to enable agricultural land use in the surrounding area. These interventions have led to a significant loss of natural water structures and habitats. In addition, the natural dynamics of watercourses have been severely restricted in many areas due to the use of land for flood protection measures or agricultural use. Only 9% of watercourses in Germany (3% in Lower Saxony) currently achieve the good ecological status required by the EU Water Framework Directive ( WRRL). At the same time, climate change is bringing more frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and floods, posing major challenges for water management. This is where the ‘KliGeW’ research project comes in. The aim is to identify new measures for the sustainable and ecological water management development of water bodies and the landscape water balance in Lower Saxony. The Mittelaller serves as a model region for this purpose. The project is investigating the concept of ‘sponge landscapes’ to improve the natural water absorption and storage capacity of river basins, make watercourses more natural and thus more ecologically valuable, and thus increase resilience to the consequences of extreme events such as floods and droughts [translated]." - Press release House of Science (13/05/2025)
HydRiv investigates the effects on the landscape water balance in both surface hydrology and groundwater. For this purpose, the Panta Rhei water balance model is used in the study area, which is specially optimised to realistically simulate runoff. At the same time, Panta Rhei is used to determine groundwater recharge for the various sub-areas of the model area. These results are then transferred as input into an independent groundwater model, creating a dynamic coupling of both models. In this way, concrete measures for the near-natural design of watercourses can be quantified and reliable findings on the overall landscape water balance can be derived.
Förderprogramm NEOG, Niedersächsische Landesbetrieb für Wasserwirtschaft, Küsten- und Naturschutz
2025 - 2027
Fachbereich Wasser- und Kreislaufwirtschaft der Hochschule Magdeburg
Haus der Wissenschaft