Nothing is risked when it comes to flood protection
11.12.2023 – The water level of the Main does not look threatening this morning. Nevertheless, the employees of the Stadtwerke's civil engineering department quickly secure the Niedergasse dyke gate. The material, the aluminum planks, are laid out on the city side of Am Maingarten. One plank after the other is placed in the rails of the gates. There they fill up during high water. Their weight keeps them anchored in place. In this way, they protect Bürgel and the city center from the floods of the Main.
The emergency is rehearsed once a year
"Once a year, we rehearse an emergency, i.e. a flood that could reach the city," says department head Melanie Gessner. "We not only practise setting up the dyke protection, but also check that the material is complete and undamaged."
City Treasurer Martin Wilhelm, who is responsible for Stadtservice, to which the Civil Engineering department is affiliated, was also present. "Fortunately, we rarely have such high water levels that the dyke gates actually have to be closed, but that doesn't mean that anyone should let their guard down. Flood protection remains very important because we have to protect the population. The so-called heavy rainfall events are becoming more and more frequent, which is why the Offenbach Main dyke is currently being raised. However, the dyke gates remain critical points. That's why it's always reassuring to see how reliably the Stadtservice prepares for disasters and how smoothly the cooperation works here during construction. I would like to thank all of the Stadtwerke employees who are involved," said Martin Wilhelm during his visit.
In an emergency, 12 gates must be closed in 48 hours
The 35-strong dyke protection team has 48 hours' lead time to close all 12 dyke gates in the 13-kilometer-long dyke in Offenbach. The gates are also doubly secured with an additional wall of beams. And in the event of a real disaster, there are also 80,000 sandbags ready to be filled on site to keep the water out. However, the exercise team did not have to fill them.