The Ritterbach ripples through the landscape, but there is much more in its water: The German-Czech project Akwa uses the small Bach as an early warning system for pollution and climate change. With the latest technology and cross -border cooperation, samples are taken regularly to monitor water quality and to gain important knowledge for environmental protection.
The Ritterbach ripples leisurely through its bed. Insects buzzing just above the surface and the constant ghuckling has almost sleepy on this sunny day. The Ritterbach will later flow into the Spree and at the end of the trip the water flows over Havel and Elbe into the North Sea.
The area around the municipality of Ebersbach is landscape, Czech Republic can be reached right next door and on foot. There the small stream arises and after just a few kilometers the water has collected so much information that a precise observation is worthwhile.
The team stands out in the area. Cars with license plates from Dresden and Prague. In addition, employees who unpack the probes and equipment and run over a wide meadow towards Bach.
All wear rubber boots and one of them rises the steep embankment into the water on one bend.
“He has a data logger with him,” explains Lucie Jasiková. She came from the Czech capital and worked for the government there. Together with her German colleague Claudia Lindner from the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Geology, she heads the Akwa project.
“With the data from the logger, for example, we can measure the pH.”
Breaks and rivers are early warning systems. When pollutants are in the ground, they often get into the water and are then transported over hundreds of kilometers and more. In order to document such loads regularly, teams from both countries take rehearsals and evaluate them every month in the Akwa Community Project. “The project is financed by the EU. It makes it much easier for us because the funds can be planned and used across borders,” explains Claudia Lindner. This would not have been possible with state funds. The ends with responsibility at the border.
With the help of the data collected, not only conclusions can be drawn about the actual state. Knowledge also helps to understand how climate change affects the water and how the consequences may be cushioned.
When talking about a resilience of nature in relation to climate change, it is always about sensitization of people. Akwa also comes in here. With project events in both countries, the population is brought on board. School classes learn playfully with a rehearsal box how chemically can be examined. “The echo is always big and the students really enjoy it,” says Claudia Lindner.
The AKWA project runs until the end of 2026. But today the little Ritterbach has long been a valuable data stream.
You can find more information about the project AKWA here: https://ots.de/Lkwx3M
Project description:
Cohesion policy has defined clear goals for the 2021-2027 funding period: a Europe, a more networked Europe, a more networked Europe, a social Europe and a citizenship in Europe. Sustainable challenges focus on society, especially in Germany and its neighboring countries. As part of the “EU4 Region” project, high -quality multimedia and journalistic information on cohesion policy is produced and then spread broadly. Within 12 months, Interreg projects from West and East Germany and the neighboring countries/regions are reported to show local challenges. The countries concerned are Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Denmark. Our thematic focus is sustainability, whereby we understand sustainability as a whole. Although the focus is on climate issues, they are supplemented by economic and social aspects. The aim is to show how EU co-esion policy affects regions and people.