The Ruhrverband's smallest reservoir
The construction of Lake Kettwig, the Ruhrverband's smallest reservoir at 1.4 million cubic metres, created the conditions for unimpeded navigation on the lower Ruhr. An undammed section of the Ruhr stretches from the Kettwig weir to the Mintarder bridge on the A 52 motorway, which is freely navigable for recreational and passenger shipping up to a discharge of 190 m³/s.
The second sector weir in Germany was built in Kettwig, whose hydraulic drive made wind turbines superfluous. This meant that a new road bridge could be built directly above the weir piers.
The transfer of the water pressure to the weir foundations is extremely favourable in terms of design. This meant that the number of river openings required could be limited to two weir fields, each 44 metres wide. The existing gradient of the weir is utilised for the operation of a power station.
In 1994, work began on installing an aeration system for the Ruhr water. Air is blown into the turbine inlet of the power station with the help of a compressor. In 1995, the second turbine was also equipped with such a system as part of a turbine overhaul.
