]> 2026-04-24T23:59:40+00:00 Case study:Restoration of the Erft-river in Weilerswist 500 en Approved Yes No No No Macrophytes,No,Yes,No,Yes,No, Invertebrates,No,Yes,No,Yes,No, Angiosperms,No,Yes,No,Yes,No, Macrophytes Invertebrates Angiosperms Yes Erftverband Landesbetrieb Straßen NRW (the state road authority) and the Erftverband (water board in the Erft watershed) Yes No Yes Erf I Lateral erosion.jpg Erf II Lateral erosion.jpg Erf III Lateral erosion.jpg 50.751526856828,6.8315649032593 Volker Erftverband Gimmler ,, ,,, 4780 Before (left) and after (right) restoration 2009-12-31Z 2455196.5 Erft VI Before (left) and after (right) restoration.jpg 2002-04-01Z 2452365.5 Complete The Erft River was heavily trained in the 1960s to provide a higher discharge capacity for flood prevention and to make it easier to mechanically maintain the river. High dams were built along the river banks and the river bed was secured with large rocks. This river training resulted in a river with few structures ans a low morphological diversity. The restoration project has been implemented in Cooperation of the Landesbetrieb Straßen NRW (the state road authority) and the Erftverband (water board in the Erft watershed) to compensate the impact on nature and environment caused by the construction of a new road. The measure has been necessary to reach the Good Ecological State of the Erft required by the WFD. By adressing the need for compensation with a river improvement measure, inefficiencies in public spending has been avoided. The project started in April 1995 and aimed at developing a structure-rich, ecologically permeable stretch of the river with regularly flooded meadows and a high potential for self-development. About 10 hectares of cropland were bought and turned into a meadow on the left hand side of the river, towards the lowest part of the valley. The dam along the Erft separating this meadow from the river has been removed. The rocks securing the river bed on that side have been removed and groynes have been built in the river bed to add morphological diversity and initiate lateral erosion. The groynes have been designed in cooperation with the local fishery association, and according to their observation, young fish which have been drifted away by floods in the past are now able to stay in the area. Restoration of the Erft-river in Weilerswist restoration of the erft-river in weilerswist 100 Economic aspects Fisheries Flood risk management Habitat and biodiversity Hydromorphology Monitoring Spatial planning Water quality 717000 500 - 1000 k€ 2012-12-14T14:39:04Z 2456276.110463 2013-09-06T10:51:09Z 2456541.9521875 Restoration of the Erft-river in Weilerswist