Plans to ‘deepen’ River Rhine meet resistance

It’s hard to exaggerate how important the river Rhine is to the countries through which it flows.

Tits mighty waterway serves as an economic lifeline in Western Europe, connecting industry in Germany, France and Switzerland with the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

every year, mmore than 300 million tons of cargo are sent along their length, from chemicals to coal, from grain to auto parts. Large companies have riverside plants that depend on these shipments. And when navigation is interrupted by low water levels — how was the case during summer drier than average this year — the costs can be enormous.

It’s a scenario the German government wants to avoid.

As part of an action plan to protect navigation, the number of vessels adapted to low tide is increasing. More controversially, he also wants to inopen one section of Middle Rhine Valley — a proposal that was welcomed by companies, but viewed skeptically by environmentalists and some localsls.

What is the project?

O the focus is 50 kilometers (31 miles) ssection of Middle Rhine, World Heritage Site — where the river is flanked by craggy cliffs, hilltop castles and wine-producing villages.

The shipping channel in this part of the Rhine is shallower at certain bottlenecks. This means that ships coming from the North Sea, for example, need to carry less cargo during periods of low tide in order to pass safely on their way to Germany’s industrial southwest.

“When in doubt, you have to carry much less,“ said Sabine Kramer of the Rhine Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA) and project area manager.

The government’s plan provides for the deepening of the navigation channel by 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) — 1.9 meters in shallow water to 2.1 meters — to align this potentially tricky snippet with areas further upstream and downstream.

Sounds like a small change, says Kai Kempmannhead of the Infrastructure and Environment Committee of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine (CCNR). “but For inland navigation, that’s a lot. You can carry a lot more with those 20 centimeters.“

According to the WSA, each ship would be able to carry at least 200 extra tons.

Adapting the river in this way is a “gain for ocean shipping because they can carry more cargo and fewer ships are expected to travel as a result,“ Kramer said.

How will the river be deepened?

To raise the level of the Rhine, engineers with the the federal river authority proposed the installation of hydraulic structures parallel to the bank, as well as spigot-like constructions that extend into the river. This would divert the flow of water into the middle of the Rhine and trap the sediment. Scraping overhanging rocks from parts of the riverbed and dredging areas of gravel are also part of the plan.

The project it is scheduled to be completed by 2030 and has an estimated initial cost of €180 million ($173 million), 40% of which is for ecological measures.

That didn’t convince O German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), however. The NGO fears that channeling more water into the middle of the river will harm fish and mussels.

“It’s a great intervention.“ he said Sabine Yacoub, president of the BUND in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate. “We fear that this will significantly change the riverbanks and impact on fish populations because this is where fish lay their eggs.“

yacoub it is also concerned that ecologically important shallow areas could permanently dry up as a result of the changes.

Kramer’s WSA Rhine said the deepening measures could not cause environmental damage. “One the environmental impact assessment is ongoing, and fish stocks are also being taken into account,“ she said.

The Rhine is ‘our identity’

Philipp Rahn he also distrusts the plans. He is the mayor of Bacharach, a town on the Rhine that depends on tourism for more than 90% of its budget. He says he fears that any new structures on the river will negatively alter the picturesque landscape.

“Tthese spurs would have a huge impact on our coast here,“ he said. “We have a rowing club. We have a water sports association. We have a public beach … And all this would no longer be able to exist.“

“The Rhine is part of our identity,“ he added. “And we would lose parts of the Rhine here, right in front of us.“

The project is still in the planning phase, so it is not yet some structures will be installed. Kramer says that although they are visible when the water level is low, they are “less than many people imagine we’re building, so it won’t have as big an impact on the landscape as many afraid at the moment.“

Refit fleets to deal

Low water periods could become more frequent with climate change, threatening to undermine the Rhine’s role as a provider of cheap and energy-efficient water transport. At the same time, the alpine glaciers that feed the river are disappearing. According to Sabine Yacoub from BUND, that’s what makes this project “myopic.“

“BBy the time it is implemented, climate change may well have shifted the stakes to such an extent that different measures are needed and even these may not solve the problem.“

in her opinion, “we must focus on adapting ships to the Rhine and not vice versa.“

Water shortages in August forced companies to lighten their loads, which led to delivery delays and increased freight costs. It’s too early to calculate the damage. but the drought in 2018, which completely stopped traffic on the Rhine, caused a loss in nearly €5 billion for German industrial production in the second half of that year.

Some companies, such as chemical giant BASF, have already started to upgrade their fleets. BASF complex in Ludwigshafen on Rhine transport 40% of its raw materials via river transport. Supports the deepening of river as part of a series of measures, including better forecasting of water levels.

in a statement, the company said it was “chartering more and more modern ships suitable for low water“ It is “increasingly depend on alternative modes of transport, in particular rail.“

It is not yet clear when construction on the Middle Rhine could start. The Minister of Transport asked for the process to be streamlined — the energy crisis arising from the war in Ukraine has only made transporting fossil fuels by waterway more urgent. But with community needs, environmental concerns and business interests to consider, the finalization of the project may take some time.

Edited by: Sarah Steffen