Ruhrverband - the best water for people and nature today and in the future

The Ruhr is one of the six major tributaries that flow into the Rhine within North Rhine-Westphalia. It rises north of Winterberg in the Hochsauerland district at an altitude of 674 metres above sea level in several headwaters, with the ‘Ruhrquelle’ (Ruhr spring) being located on the northern slope of the Ruhrkopf.

As part of the Regionale 2013, the Henne dam was renaturalised and connected to the city centre via the Henne Boulevard. This was followed in 2015 by the opening of the stairway to heaven with 333 steel steps and a viewing platform.

To the Henne dam

The Möhne Dam, which went into operation in 1913 as the largest dam in Europe, is still a key element in controlling the water flow of the Ruhr today, accounting for over 25 per cent of the total reservoir storage space in the Ruhr catchment area. With its 650 metre long and up to 40 metre high gravity dam made of quarry stone, 134.5 million cubic metres of water can be dammed up.

Lake Hengsteysee is located near Hagen below where the Lenne flows into the Ruhr. Hohensyburg Castle is a popular excursion destination. Other sights include the Vincketurm tower, the war memorial and the Kaiser Wilhelm monument.

The fish ladder at Lake Harkort was designed as a near-natural bypass stream and has a total length of approx. 375 metres with a total of 57 individual basins.

Restoring the continuity of watercourses is a key requirement of the European Water Framework Directive. What this has to do with the preservation of biodiversity and the future of our ecological resources and how the continuity of watercourses actually works is explained vividly and interactively at the info point on the fish lift system on the Baldeneysee weir.

At our water gauges, such as here in Mülheim, the water level, the flow rate or the flow velocity of the Ruhr are measured.

Our 360-degree panorama of the Duisburg-Kaßlerfeld wastewater treatment plant allows you to experience the plant interactively.

After around 219 kilometres, the Ruhr flows into the Rhine. Here it has an average discharge of 80 cubic metres per second. By comparison, the Rhine is 1,233 kilometres long and has an average discharge of over 2,000 cubic metres per second at its mouth!