Environment, nature and climate

Wellritzbach renaturation project

The Wellritz Valley owes its origins to the Wellritzbach stream, which makes its way through the valley from the Schläferskopf. For decades, it ran partly in an ecologically worthless concrete profile, as was often the case in the 1950s and 1960s. The lower section of the Wellritzbach has been renaturalized.

Near-natural stream bed with stones and small grassy islands, lush green vegetation next to it. — Wellritzbach in the already renaturalized section.

Wellritzbach profile

The Wellritzbach rises as Gehrner Bach northwest of the Schläferskopf and runs underground in the Wiesbaden district from the Kurt-Schumacher Ring to its mouth in the Salzbachkanal in Friedrichstraße. With the inflow of the Kältebach north of Klarenthal, the watercourse receives its final name Wellritzbach.

Characteristics
Source altitude:	425 meters above sea level
Base height:	138 meters above sea level
Flow length:	6 kilometers
Average gradient:	4.7 percent
Above-ground catchment area (up to the start of piping):	11.8 square kilometers
Average discharge (mouth) (up to the start of piping):	77.7 liters per second

Wellritzbach in concrete profile.

Renaturation of the Wellritzbach stream and design of the Wellritztal landscape park

The Wellritz Valley is one of the most important green corridors in the state capital of Wiesbaden and connects the open countryside with the city center. Since 2020, the Wellritzbach stream has also been flowing freely through the valley again. The aim of the renaturation of the Wellritzbach was to restore the stream between Wellritzmühle and Kurt-Schumacher-Ring, which has been running in a rigid concrete channel for decades, to its natural and ecological state. In addition to the development of biotopes - valuable habitats for plants and animals - the valley also became more attractive for those seeking recreation. Water is once again more visible as a defining element of the city of Wiesbaden - and the Wellritz Valley in particular.

Construction phases and work

Back in 2005, part of the upper course of the Wellritztal stream was renaturalized in a first construction phase as part of a pilot project between RheinMain University of Applied Sciences and the state capital of Wiesbaden. The second construction phase was implemented in 2019 and began in 2020. Since March 2020, the Wellritz Valley and the passage to the Kirschenpfad have been freely accessible again.

In the middle of the valley, where the stream was originally at home, a new near-natural watercourse bed was created. A rough bed and the installation of shallow sections of water reduced the flow velocity. This gave the Wellritzbach the opportunity to carve out its own path again, allowing varied flow patterns to develop and thus improving the water quality.

Subsidies and costs

The state capital of Wiesbaden received funding of around 630,000 euros from the state of Hesse for the renaturation of the Wellritzbach in the second construction phase. This covered around 85 percent of the costs from the state program "Watercourse Development and Flood Protection". The project is part of the implementation of the program of measures of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD).