Water maintenance in Fröndenberg is now in the hands of the Ruhrverband

On 14 January 2025, the mayor of the town of Fröndenberg, Sabina Müller, signed an accompanying agreement with the board of the Ruhrverband, Prof. Norbert Jardin, Christoph Gerbersmann and Carolin-Beate Fieback, to take over the water maintenance obligation. This means that the Ruhrverband is now responsible for the maintenance of around 43 kilometres of watercourses in the town of Fröndenberg. The Ruhr, which covers 14.7 kilometres on Fröndenberg territory, is excluded from the assumption of the water maintenance obligation. As a watercourse of the first order, it remains under the maintenance obligation of the state of NRW. The waters in the catchment area of the Lippe, which run within the town boundaries, are also not part of the takeover and will not be maintained by the Ruhrverband in future either.

In July 2024, the town council of Fröndenberg unanimously approved the takeover of watercourse maintenance by the Ruhrverband. This was followed in December 2024 by the approval of the delegates at the Ruhrverband's association meeting, who thus followed the recommendation of the association council. A few days before Christmas, the NRW Ministry of the Environment also gave the green light, meaning that the assumption of the water maintenance obligation could take immediate effect with the signing of the documents in Fröndenberg town hall.

For the town of Fröndenberg, the takeover of water maintenance by the Ruhrverband offers the opportunity to relieve its own staff in times of a shortage of skilled labour and at the same time ensure that the tasks are carried out in accordance with the law. Another advantage is that the Ruhrverband, as a public corporation, is not subject to VAT for services that it provides as part of its statutory duties. The eligibility for subsidies for water development measures is also maintained. By bundling the various water management tasks, the association can draw on the expertise of all specialist departments and thus achieve synergies.

The holistic management and development of water bodies as part of operational river basin management offers many opportunities to optimise the overall system ecologically and economically. In consultation with the local authorities, the Ruhrverband designs and plans watercourse development measures and implements them. The condition of the watercourse and the flood risks are jointly assessed and taken into account when selecting the measures. The citizens benefit from an upgrading of the watercourse and a possible reduction in the risk of flooding. The town of Fröndenberg, like many other municipalities in the Ruhr Association area, was severely affected by the flood events in July 2021.

Background: According to Sections 62 (1) No. 2 and 68 sentence 1 of the State Water Act (LWG), municipalities are responsible for the maintenance and development of watercourses for second-order watercourses and other watercourses in their municipal area. In accordance with Section 4 (1) of the Ruhrverband Act (RuhrVG), the Ruhrverband can take over the tasks of watercourse maintenance and renaturalisation from local authorities in its association area if there is mutual agreement between the responsible bodies and the NRW Ministry of the Environment as the responsible supervisory authority gives its approval. Most recently, the Ruhrverband signed corresponding agreements with the mayors of all municipalities in the Olpe district in December 2024 and will therefore be responsible for around 1,190 kilometres of watercourses in Attendorn, Drolshagen, Finnentrop, Kirchhundem, Lennestadt, Olpe and Wenden from January 2026.