BZ reporter Oliver Ohmann climbed into the sewage system with a flashlight and rubber boots Photo: Charles Yunck
By Oliver Ohmann
Hardly anyone knows canals up close. Almost nothing in a big city is as important as the sewage system. At the weekend, Berliner Wasserbetriebe held an “Open Canal Day”.
Meeting point Schöneberg, entrance to the Hohenzollern Canal in Winterfeldtstrasse. Employee Merlin Muth hands out rubber boots, picks up a professional flashlight himself and explains what is to be seen. The 37-year-old is responsible for special technology at the water company, which also includes the historic stormwater overflow channel. Muth: “It’s one of our showpieces in Berlin, opened in 1903 and built brick by brick.”
When it rains heavily, the water flows through gullies into the 1.6 kilometer long underground walls. “The canal is 4.20 meters wide and 2.40 meters high. The rainwater is then mixed with dirty water and then it goes to the sewage treatment plant.” Only in an emergency does the rainwater flow straight on and get into the Landwehr Canal. “The water companies are working on collecting even more rainwater directly in the future and allowing it to seep away,” explains Muth.
The Hohenzollern Canal is around 50 steps deep. It was dry on Saturday, only a puddle of groundwater on the ground. The rainwater inlets, as professionals call gullies, protrude into the sewer. The lighting is dimmed and installed waterproof. The walls are cleaned regularly with technical equipment, because the rain washes in a lot of rubbish.
Astrid Hackenesch-Rump (48), spokeswoman for the water company: “We are pleased about the great rush and the interest.” Incidentally, Berliners owe the sewerage system to King Friedrich Wilhelm IV ordered drainage of the city.
Photos: Charles Yunck