Local residents ralph skotnica and udo marx can still remember the floods on christmas eve in 1967. At that time, the basketmaking community of michelau was massively affected. In the aftermath of the flood, both boys paddled with old bathtubs in the receding floodwaters. Today, both michelau residents are happy about the recently completed dike retrofitting.
"We will be spared anything like what happened in passau in the future", says ralph skotnica. Forgetting the burden of tree removal. Forgotten are also the many dust, the noise and the approximately 100 trucks per day, which make their houses "shake" have brought. "We were pleased that something was being done", explains udo marx.
With an "open day" at the construction site the completion of the dyke reinforcement was celebrated. In addition to invited guests, local residents were also invited to the event. The deputy head of the kronach water management office, matthias schrepfermann, reminded the audience that the flood protection facilities dating from the 1970s and 1980s no longer met today’s requirements. The aim of the retrofitting is to protect against a so-called "hundred-year flood (HQ 100). The improvement of flood protection also takes into account a "climate surcharge" from 15 percent.
3000 residents benefit
The tree removal will in future protect around 200 hectares of settlement area in the municipality of michelau. Around 3,000 residents and 60 companies with around 2,000 jobs will benefit from this. The construction costs of around 13.5 million euros will be offset by an "HQ 100" flood a calculated damage potential of 80 million euro vs.
Mayor helmut fischer (CSU) spoke of the most massive tree removal ever carried out in the basket maker community. He still remembers well when it was said in 2003 that michelau needed better flood protection. At that time one spoke of costs in height of 4.5 million euro with a municipality portion of 25 per cent. After a few years, the mabnahme are then in the front area of the priority list. Fischer still remembers the statement of hans hemmerlein (kronach water management office), who said: "when he thinks of michelau, he can no longer sleep peacefully at night." A first concrete draft for the flood protection of michelau was available in 2014, at that time one spoke of construction costs in the amount of 8.3 million euros and an own share of the municipality of michelau of 23 percent, which will be reduced by taking over maintenance and care measures such as mowing the dam love.
13.5 million euros in construction costs
In the meantime, the construction costs have risen to 13.5 million euros, with the community contributing one million euros of its own. Fisher spoke of an incredible tree removal with a high maintenance value. As an example, the mayor mentioned the rumor that a highway would be built in schneyer strabe, or the reactions of the citizens from the core community, who calmly accepted a wall several kilometers long. Whereas in a part of michelau, a 300-meter-long wall was a "medium declaration of war" have caused. Currently, the construction work on the new pumping station is still planned. As well as the tree removal for the flood protection in the district schwurbitz, whose completion is planned until the end of 2020.
A new type of mobile dike is to be used to keep the railroad station road in the area of the angers from filling up in the event of a flood. However, an acute intervention of the fire department prevented a demonstration of the mobile flood protection.