Essen's pearl in the south of the city
Lake Baldeney is located south of the city of Essen, in the navigable area of the Ruhr. When it was completed, its reservoir volume was around 8.3 million cubic metres. Due to its function as a river sewage treatment plant, more and more sediment was deposited on its bottom over the years.
In 1981, after almost 50 years of operation, its capacity was only 6.5 million cubic metres, although its volume had increased slightly over time due to the lowering of the river bed as a result of mining. Planning work for the dredging of the lake therefore began as early as 1968.
Dredging began in April 1983 and was completed in May 1984. A total of 1.1 million cubic metres of sediment was removed from the lake with a dredger, transported 7 km via pipelines and deposited in the dredging fields. After dredging, Lake Baldeney once again had a capacity of 7.6 million cubic metres.
The weir in Essen-Werden has three openings that are closed with lifting rollers. It has been atmospherically illuminated in the evening hours since the Capital of Culture in 2010. The lighting times are set as follows:
- In the winter months: December and January from 16:30, February from 17:30
- In spring: March from 18:00, April from 20:00, May from 20:45
- In the summer months: June and July from 21:15, August from 20:30
- In autumn: September from 19:15, October from 18:15, November from 16:15
The lights are switched off daily at 0:15 am.
