Tours and guided tours of the Ruhrverband
We offer exciting guided tours and visits where you can experience the many aspects of our work at first hand.
Discover how we use state-of-the-art technologies for wastewater treatment at our wastewater treatment plants or learn more about our sustainable water management methods at our reservoirs. In our Historical Collection of Ruhr Water Management, we will guide you through the history and development of water management in the region. At Lake Baldeney, our exhibition on the fish lift system will give you exciting insights into this innovative ecological project that promotes biodiversity in our waters. We also invite you to visit Lake Kemnader, where you can see the weir system and the hydroelectric power station.
Exhibition on the fish lift system at Lake Baldeney
The information point on the fish lift system on the Baldeneysee weir explains vividly and interactively what the restoration of river continuity has to do with the preservation of biodiversity and the future of our ecological resources and how it actually works.
Our wastewater treatment plants in Bochum-Ölbachtal, Essen-Kettwig, Essen-Kupferdreh and Hagen-Fley belong to the Ruhrverband's western regional area. If you would like to visit one of these sewage treatment plants, please contact Nicole Hellersberg.
Nicole Hellersberg
0201 178-2211
Our wastewater treatment plants in Altena, Biggetal, Finnentrop, Gevelsberg, Lennestadt, Lüdenscheid-Schlittenbachtal, Plettenberg, Schmallenberg and Volmetal belong to the Ruhrverband's western regional area. Our contact person Dagmar Henneke will be happy to provide you with information on guided tours.
Dagmar Henneke
02391 598-101
Our wastewater treatment plants in Brilon, Iserlohn-Letmathe, Schwerte and Sundern-Reigern belong to the Ruhrverband's western regional area. Please get in touch with our contact person Ilka Strube if you are interested in a guided tour.
Ilka Strube
02931 551-160
Visits (Thursday - Saturday) can be arranged at the e-mail address [email protected] .
Information on public tours (Sunday to Wednesday and on public holidays/bridge days) can be obtained from Wirtschafts- und Tourismus GmbH Möhnesee at www.moehnesee.de.
Viewings can be arranged at the e-mail address [email protected] can be enquired about.
Information on public tours of the Henne Dam can be obtained from the Meschede Tourist Information Centre at www.hennesee-sauerland.de.
Visits are unfortunately not possible until the end of 2025 due to construction work!
Viewings can be arranged by calling 02722 7069-0 can be requested.
Viewings can be arranged at the e-mail address [email protected] can be requested.
Historical collection of the Ruhrverband
Fancy some exciting water stories about the Ruhr and its tributaries? The "Historical Collection of Ruhr Water Management" is located in the Rellinghausen district of Essen, right next to a former sewage treatment plant.
The building from the early 20th century originally served as a gas transfer station for Stadtwerke Essen. From 1996, the Ruhrverband restored the building, largely preserving the historical structure. The upper floor now houses a seminar room and a historical library, while contemporary exhibits and documents in the basement provide an insight into the development of water management on the Ruhr.
Location: Historical collection of the Ruhr water management,
St. Annental 50, 45134 Essen
Opening hours: from 4 May 2023 every first Thursday of the month from 4 to 6 p.m. and by appointment on 0201/178-1160
Target groups: Adults, young people, children from the age of seven
Brochure
Would you like to find out more about the historical collection of the Ruhr Water Management in advance? Then the following brochure is just the thing for you!
Infopoint fish lift system Baldeney
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.
Which fish species are at home in the Ruhr? Why do fish have to migrate? Why do fish ladders look different? And how exactly does the fish lift system work? The answers to these and many other questions can be found at the fish lift system info point on Lake Baldeney!
Open from the beginning of the NRW Easter holidays until the end of September
Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Appointments for groups by arrangement
Location: on the weir bridge of Lake Baldeney, above the weir pier located directly next to the power station.
Navigation address:
Freiherr-vom-Stein-Straße 206 a, 45133 Essen
(nearest car park, approx. 10 minutes' walk from there)
The fish lift system info point is not barrier-free!
The centrepiece of the exhibition is the interactive 3D terrain model, which is more than five metres long and depicts the lower Ruhr from Lake Hengstey to its mouth in the Rhine - in day and night views and with lots of additional graphical information.
The 3D terrain model can also be used to play video clips on the nine most important weirs on the lower Ruhr, which shed light on the history, purpose and current status of the continuity of each weir.
Other highlights of the Infopoint include a fully functional 1:10 scale model of the fish lift system.
Of course, we have also thought of our younger guests: they can learn about the fish in the Ruhr by playing a fishing game. The secret unicorn button, which we have hidden somewhere in the Infopoint, is also waiting for particularly resourceful sleuths. Whoever presses it will be in for a rainbow-coloured surprise!
And then, of course, there's Horst - the cute mascot fish from the Baldeneysee fish lift info point. Horst actually just wants to swim up the Ruhr, but unfortunately people have put quite a few obstacles in front of him. Fortunately, there are fish ladders at the weirs on the lower Ruhr ...
Horst is a pretty rare fish, by the way: it belongs to North Rhine-Westphalia's most endangered fish species, the burbot. The only freshwater fish from the cod family used to be common in the local waters, but there is now only a limited population in one place in the River Lippe. A project funded by the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Environment and run by the Westphalia and Lippe Fishing Association in co-operation with the Biological Station of the district of Soest and the Ruhrverband has set itself the task of supporting the burbot population in the River Lippe.
Would you prefer to watch the video clips at home? Click here for the individual clips!
- Duisburg weir
- Raffelberg weir (Mülheim)
- Lake Kettwig
- Lake Baldeney
- Spillenburg weir
- Hattingen weir
- Lake Kemnader
- Lake Harkort
- Lake Hengstey
You can also view the exhibition from the comfort of your own home thanks to the virtual tour in the fish lift.
Guided tours at the weir of Lake Kemnader
Lake Kemnader between Witten-Heven and Bochum-Stiepel is the youngest of the Ruhrverband's five reservoirs.
Its weir system, completed in 1979, and the hydropower plant, opened in 2011, can be visited as part of a guided tour.
Scope of the tour: Visit to the control centre, turbine, inspection walkway and fish ladder
Duration: 60 to 90 minutes
Group size: maximum 20 people, minimum age ten years
Special features: sturdy footwear is recommended for safety reasons
Contact for appointment enquiries: Bea Ameely, [email protected]