Yesterday a wastewater treatment plant, tomorrow a biotope
Billwerder Insel is situated south of the wood ports and was once used by Hamburg’s waterworks, today Hamburg Wasser, for the utility’s drinking water purification plant. At the start of the 20th century, four large clarifying basins were erected, which were then shut down in 1990 and have since turned into ruins. After the Federal Administrative Court made various ecological compensation measures a requirement for the permit to adjust the fairway, the area became significant again and was eyed by the planners as the ideal natural environment for the endangered Schierlings-Wasserfenchel. Thanks to the connection to the two northern, 7-hectar-large basins and, in turn, their connection via a small canal to the wood ports, an area has been created which is influenced by the tides. Here is where an alluvial forest will be able to grow along the riverbank with the help of tidal creeks, mudflats and small islands of bushes. The aim is to create a biotope that is as close to nature as possible for the relocation of the Schierlings-Wasserfenchel. HPA has already commenced work.
The Schierlings-Wasserfenchel is a very special marsh plant which only grows at locations influenced by ebb and flow. The only place the plant grows – worldwide – is along the tidal Elbe. This makes the relocation of the Schierlings-Wasserfenchel within the course of the extensive measures for the fairway adjustment a task of top priority. HPA is now in the throes of transforming Billwerder Insel into a new home, leveraging complex conversion measures, including flat scarps and a forested riverbank, for this rare flora. Read more about the Schierlings-Wasserfenchel in an interview with Marc Kindermann, who is responsible for the project.
