Flood prevention and backwater protection - a sustainable way of treating rainwater
Contaminated water from roof areas and car parks is cleaned before being discharged into the downstream system.

The “Neues Wallufer” district is being developed on the historical grounds of the Lübeck municipal works, the former location of the old gasometer. It stands directly on the banks of the town moat, which is part of the Trave river that flows into the Baltic Sea. The district will offer both modern residential properties as well as commercial spaces for offices and the food services industry. Visitors to the district will come upon new-build properties mixed in with older buildings. This mixture of different buildings has resulted in the approving authorities stipulating that certain requirements have to be met, which in turn is causing a variety of problems related to the norms and guidelines that have to be met. On one hand, the existing drainage system must be treated separately from the newly planned area. On the other, the existing system must be retrofitted or improved due to some changes in uses. What’s more, all of this work must be carried out with a focus on sustainable water protection.

Prior to the realisation of the overall project, extensive soil rehabilitation measures had to be taken. In order to prevent the ground water from being contaminated, the grounds were sealed off from below with PE geomembranes. As a result, precipitation does not seep through soil that has been classified as being contaminated and into the earth. The contaminants in the substrate cannot leak out.