Euba dam: water level to be lowered
Next step: bottom outlet must be opened - THW assists with opening
Following the heavy rainfall of the past few days, the Euba reservoir was to be drained in a controlled manner yesterday. The residents of the Chemnitz district had been informed of this in advance.
However, it turned out on site that the larger of the two drains could not be opened, and after three dives with unsuccessful attempts to open it, the city has now decided to deploy a specialised unit from the THW Pirna. From Wednesday evening, this four-man team will attempt to open the drain gate with an oxygen lance in order to realise the drain as planned. The THW will be supported by the fire brigade and civil engineering department.
After the heavy rainfall, the water level in the dam is around twelve metres higher than the so-called dam target of seven metres. This is therefore an exceptional operating case in which precautionary measures must be taken. There is no indication of an increased risk, but the current operating status is still unacceptable. The draining is necessary because the dam would not be able to cope with renewed heavy rainfall at the current water level.
The measures that have been initiated include informing the public and taking steps to regulate the discharge in order to lower the water level. This is to be achieved by opening the bottom outlet. The water would be discharged via the dam stream into the Euba village stream. However, this means that there is no risk of flooding in these areas. Further drains have already been installed, which are currently lowering the water level by two centimetres every hour.
With the opening of the large bottom outlet, lowering the water level would take around three to five days, depending on the rainfall situation.
Euba Dam
The Euba dam was built between 1911 and 1914 and has a capacity of 120,000 cubic metres. The dam wall is 14 metres high.