Riparian owners have a duty - ensuring flood protection
People living near streams and rivers must also contribute to watercourse and flood protection themselves. The Civil Engineering and Environment Departments have the following advice for you:
Do not store any washable materials such as grass cuttings, garden waste, wood and other materials along the watercourse and in the area of the five metre wide watercourse edge strip. Do not dispose of such materials in the watercourse. Do not construct any unauthorised bank reinforcements, in particular not with wire mesh baskets, planters, lawn grids or various waste materials such as building rubble, metal rods, plastic sheeting, cuttings, car tyres and household waste. In particular, cuttings and household waste deposited on the embankment areas harbour the risk of burrowing animal infestation and thus contribute to the instability of the embankment.
The washing away of illegally deposited materials and illegal installations in and around the river bed make the tasks of river maintenance to be carried out by the civil engineering office more difficult and more expensive. In addition, the flood risk for the areas bordering the watercourses is significantly increased due to the resulting restricted drainage cross-section.
During heavy rainfall, there is a risk that material deposited near rivers and streams will be washed away, causing pipe culverts and bridges to become clogged with this floating debris. The sudden build-up of water caused by this can lead to flooding of properties and public roads that are not normally affected by flooding.
It should also be noted that the respective property owner is responsible for private structures on and in surface waters, such as bank retaining walls, pipe culverts, bridges and discharge points. The structures must be regularly inspected and properly maintained in order to prevent damage or collapse in the event of high water runoff. Measures that go beyond the simple repair of flood damage in accordance with hydraulic engineering requirements always require authorisation under water law from the lower water authority.
Before planning measures on the watercourse and in the watercourse edge area, please contact the Civil Engineering Office, Department of Bridge Maintenance / Hydraulic Engineering (telephone: 0371 488 7739, 0371 488 6649, 0371 488 7734) or the Environmental Agency, Department of Protection of Surface Waters / Municipal Sewage (telephone: 0371 488 3651).
The responsible officers will be happy to advise you and, if necessary, will coordinate the projects and water law authorisation requirements with you on site.