Aerial view of the southern flood retention area © Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe
Flood Protection
Retention Area
Project
Flood retention area, Polder Bellenkopf/Rappenwört
Client
Regierungspräsidium Karlsruhe
(Karlsruhe Regional Council)
Location
Karlsruhe
Project volume
€350 million
The Rückhalteraum (RHR) Bellenkopf/Rappenwört (Flood retention area Bellenkopf/Rappenwört) is one of 13 flood retention areas being built on the Upper Rhine under the Integrated Rhine Programme (IRP), which is based on the 1982 Franco-German Treaty. Its aim is to protect communities downstream on the Rhine from major flooding.
The Bellenkopf/Rappenwört retention area, currently under construction, stretches along the Rhine from Rheinstetten-Neuburgweier to Karlsruhe-Daxlanden and will be able to retain around 14 million cubic metres of floodwater. It is around 5.5 km long and 0.9 km wide.
The retention area is enclosed on all sides by dykes, with five inlet and outlet structures on the Rhine side. Between the rare flood events, water from the Rhine can flow through the retention area (uncontrolled ecological flooding) in order to preserve or develop flood-adapted flora and fauna and thus ensure environmental compatibility. Hermann-Schneider-Allee, which runs through the retention area, will be adapted to future flooding, as will the Rheinpark, the Naturschutzzentrum Karlsruhe-Rappenwört (nature conservation centre) and the other roads, bridges and structures in the polder.
Built-up areas adjacent to the retention area will be protected by extensive protective measures against additional harmful rises in the groundwater level that could occur in connection with the construction and operation of the polder. Three large pumping stations, along with wells, ponds and various drainage systems and ditches, are being built to draw off groundwater.
The flexibility of the Poolar.Project product, which was demonstrated to us during the tender process, was the deciding factor in our decision to choose this software solution for our project.
Our expectations – particularly regarding the configuration of access rights to individual files – have been fully met to date, and new features are constantly being introduced, making the product even more valuable for our project.
Michael Ebner, Karlsruhe Regional Council
It is very important to us that, once the project is complete, all relevant documentation for our operations and maintenance staff can be quickly located using the folder structure and filter function, and utilised in day-to-day operations.
Specific challenges and the use of Poolar.Project
The Higher Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg found fault with parts of the original planning approval decision for the Bellenkopf/Rappenwört retention area. However, the identified defects can be rectified in a supplementary procedure that is currently being prepared. While the planning documents are being revised and re-examined, the Landesbetrieb Gewässer (state water management agency) is, in parallel, implementing all measures that are already legally permissible in order to improve flood protection for residents along the Rhine as quickly as possible.
Particularly during this transitional phase between the supplementary procedure and the major construction stages, the early implementation of Poolar.Project lays a solid foundation for the construction phases ahead. The meeting minutes function allows meetings, decisions and tasks to be documented centrally, ensuring that coordination between specialist departments, experts and authorities remains transparent and traceable.
The ‘Invoices’ add-on ensures efficient management, from the initial procurement steps right through to the final invoice. Everyone involved in the review workflow is notified of a new task via a notification email from the previous reviewer.
Initial site inspections, surveys and preparatory measures are recorded in the Photos app with georeferenced data and are subsequently available for comparison, verification and coordination.
For each of the more than 1,000 exploratory boreholes drilled to date, we have several documents that need to be filed with the utmost care. Fortunately, Poolar.Project’s clever filing system makes this very easy for us, and everyone involved can keep track of everything.
Michael Ebner, Karlsruhe Regional Council
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