Construction starts in two weeks: Roth Dam secures the region!

Construction starts in two weeks: Roth Dam secures the region!

It starts in two weeks! Construction work on the Roth II dam in the Hildburghausen district is imminent. The Thuringian Long-Distance Water Supply (TFW) is responsible for the comprehensive project, which wants to keep pace with the increasing demands on flood safety. Instead of a traditional episiotomy, a decision will be made to build a side relief, which is a real novelty. This measure is not only a response to the needs of the time, but is also based on stricter requirements from the dam supervision of the Thuringian State Office for the Environment, Mining and Nature Conservation, such as inSüdthüringen reported.

The original idea was to lower the dam height in order to protect the dam from extremely high water volumes. However, after extensive discussions with local and state politicians as well as the citizens of the region, it was decided to leave the dam in its previous function. This shows how important it is to maintain local structures.

Water levels and challenges

The water level of the Roth reservoir has currently fallen to around 4.30 meters, which represents a decrease of 0.70 meters compared to the original level. This measure not only angered district administrator Sven Gregor, who criticized the reduction, but also surprised the nature conservation authority in the district office. In particular, the communication in advance could be described as in need of improvement, even if managing director Thomas Dirkes of the TFW admits that the announcement could have been made better, as MDR reports.

If there is heavy rain, the current flow of only 2 cubic meters per second could not meet the requirements. Therefore, the creation of a new overflow is planned, which technically requires the removal of a wall by one meter and entails an estimated cost of around 500,000 euros. Environment Minister Tilo Kummer remains optimistic that the work can be completed by autumn. This would make it possible to raise the water level back to around 4.50 meters, which would secure the habitat for numerous protected species such as beavers, bats and common toads.

The look into the future

With the increasing use of valley floodplains by agriculture and industry, the risk of flood events is becoming ever higher. Measures such as the construction of dams and flood retention basins and regular checks of their functionality are essential to ensure the safety of the population. Flooding cannot be avoided, also due to climate change, and it is important to prepare for it, as [hlnug.de](https://www.hlnug.de/themen/geologie/georisk-und-ingenieurgeologie/technologer-hochwasserschutz-hochwasserrueckhalte Becken-und-talsperre) addresses.

The upcoming work on the Roth II dam is a step in the right direction to meet these challenges. The cooperation between politics, environmental associations and the population shows how important it is to fight for the security of the region and at the same time not to lose sight of nature conservation. The coming weeks will be crucial – so that the construction work progresses successfully!