Rivers, structure of water bodies, areas with a lot of water during floods
Water flows from its source to its mouth. Water is always in motion. Water is a dynamic habitat. Water changes the banks. This creates many habitats in a small area. In the past, streams were often straightened. Streams were culverted. The banks were built up. As a result, streams lost many important functions. Today, the aim is to restore the ecological integrity of watercourses. We want to improve the quality of life for people and animals. We want to achieve flood protection. These are important goals for our watercourses.
Bad Homburg has many rivers. The rivers come from the Taunus. The town takes care of the rivers. The rivers include: Dornbach, Blaubach, Erlenbach, Seulbach, Kirdorfer Bach, Tiefenbach, Eschbach, Heuchelbach, Lohrbach, Braumannswiesenbach, Mühlengraben (Ober-Erlenbach), Taunengraben and Mühlenbach (Schöne Aussicht). Together, the rivers in Bad Homburg are very long.
The city must take care of the waters. That's what the law says. The city must maintain the waters. The city must repair the waters. The city has to make the waters natural again. That takes a lot of time. The city needs the land. The city has to make the plans. The city needs permission from the authorities. The city has been doing this since the 1990s. The state of Hesse is helping. The city is planning even more. The European Water Framework Directive says: Cities must make their water bodies good.
In Hesse, the quality of water bodies is examined. The structure is the appearance of a body of water. For example, how the water flows. Or what the banks look like. The study is important. It helps to improve the waters. It helps to protect nature. It helps to improve the waters.
There are areas that are flooded during high water. This is stated in the Water Resources Act. These areas are called floodplains. These areas are not planned. They are not defined. You look at where the water is high every 100 years. This is called HQ 100. The Darmstadt Regional Council has defined the floodplains. These are the areas of Erlenbach, Eschbach, Seulbach and Dornbach. The Kirdorfer Bach is also included. More information is available from the Darmstadt Regional Council.
The Erlenbach is a protected area. The area is called "Erlenbach between Neu-Anspach and Nieder-Erlenbach". The stream is special. It has natural forests. The stream has not been altered by humans. The stream has a special dynamic. The bullhead lives in the stream. The bullhead is a fish. It lives in clean water. It needs a lot of oxygen.
