Peter Oberle

Numerische und physikalische Modelluntersuchungen für ein innovatives Fischaufstiegskonzept am Ruhrwehr Baldeney@@@Numerical and Physical Model Studies for an Innovative Fish Pass Concept at the Weir Baldeney (Ruhr)@@@Цифровые и физические модели исследований для разработки инновационной концепции рыбоподъемного сооружения на рурской плотине Бальденей (Baldeney)

Im Auftrag des Ruhrverbandes und gefördert durch das Land NRW wird derzeit am Standort Baldeney ein innovatives Fischliftsystem entwickelt, welches der aquatischen Fauna die Überwindung des Stauwehres ermöglichen soll. Die Positionierung dieser Fischaufstiegsanlage sowie die geometrische Ausgestaltung der Anlagenperipherie basieren auf umfangreichen Voruntersuchungen im Rahmen eines iterativen Optimierungsprozesses. Aufgrund der komplexen hydraulischen Randbedingungen sowie der hohen schökologischen Anforderungen kam ein hybrides Untersuchungskonzept zum Einsatz basierend auf detaillierten 3-D-Strömungssimulationen in Verbindung mit physikalischen (gegenständlichen) Modellversuchen sowie ethohydraulischen Tests. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden schwerpunktmäßig die eingesetzten numerischen Methoden vorgestellt und in Bezug auf ihre Prognosefähigkeit diskutiert.

Implementierung innovativer Wasserförder- und -verteilkonzepte in einer Gebirgsregion im Norden Vietnams

Der Beitrag behandelt ein BMBF-gefördertes Vorhaben, welches sich auf die Entwicklung und Umsetzung innovativer Wasserförderund -verteilkonzepte in subtropischen und tropischen (Karst-) Regionen konzentriert. In diesem Zusammenhang wird eine Pilotanlage in der vietnamesischen Provinz Ha Giang realisiert, welche künftig die Wasserversorgung von mehreren tausend Menschen sicherstellen soll. Zudem soll das Initial für die Multiplikation ähnlicher Vorhaben in Bedarfsregionen mit vergleichbaren Rahmenbedingungen im Wassersektor gegeben werden.

Transfer of adapted water supply technologies through a demonstration and teaching facility

Water scarcity can be defined as a lack of sufficient water resources or as the limited or even missing access to a safe water supply. Latter can be classified as ‘economic water scarcity’ which among others can commonly be met in tropical and subtropical karst regions of emerging and developing countries. Karst aquifers, mostly consisting of limestone and carbonate rock, show high infiltration rates which leads to a lack of above ground storage possibilities. Thus, the water will drain rapidly into the underground and evolve vast river networks. Considering the lack of appropriate infrastructure and limited human capacities in the affected areas, these underground water resources cannot be exploited adequately. Against this, background innovative and adapted technologies are required to utilize hard-to-access water resources in a sustainable way. In this context, the German–Indonesian joint R&D project “Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Indonesia” dealt with the development of highly adaptable water technologies and management strategies. Under the aegis of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), these innovative technical concepts were exemplarily implemented to remedy this deficiency in the model region Gunung Sewu, a karst area situated on the southern coast of Java Island, Indonesia. The experiences gained through the interdisciplinary joint R&D activities clearly showed that even in the case of availability of appropriate technologies, a comprising transfer of knowhow and the buildup of capabilities (Capacity Development) is inevitable to sustainably implement and disseminate new methods. In this context, an adapted water supply facility was developed by KIT which hereafter shall serve for demonstration, teaching, and research purposes. The plant’s functionality, its teaching and research concept, as well as the design process, which was accomplished in collaboration with the University Gadjah Mada (UGM), Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is the content of this present paper.

Editorial for SpringerOpen ‘Applied Water Science’ special issue: “Implementation of adapted water technologies in a tropical karst region”

Populated karst landscapes are spread all over the world, they host more than 25 % of the world’s population and are fundamental for the inhabitants’ daily water supply. Nevertheless, the natural boundary conditions in these areas mostly lead to distinct challenges regarding a sustainable water supply. The extraction-related effort greatly refers to the karstified underground with high infiltration rates and, therefore, lacking natural water storages at the surface. At the same time there are vast underground water resources whose utilization is afflicted with distinct difficulties due to the poor accessibility caused by the location deep underground and thus high pump heads, by the heterogeneous spatial distribution as well as by the highly temporal fluctuating water yield. Additionally, karst water resources are distinctly vulnerable to contamination due the poor filter capacity of carbonate rock. Hence, especially in less and least developed countries the effort required for extraction of karst water resources prevalently leads to ‘economic water scarcity’, which is characterized by lacking monetary means to utilize existing resources and by absence of adequate infrastructure and access to adapted technologies. The Indonesian karst region ‘Gunung Sewu’ suffers from all of these constraints. 1400 square kilometers in size, it is situated in the district of Gunung Kidul, Yogyakarta Special Province (DIY), on the southern coast of Java Island. During recent decades, the Indonesian government has undertaken great efforts to exploit the underground water resources through application of conventional technological solutions—so far without lasting success. To improve the living conditions for the inhabitants, a German-Indonesian network of scientific institutions, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), focused on the development of innovative and highly adapted technologies to sustainably exploit the underground karst water resources. During data collection, development and planning phase particular consideration was given to the hydrological, ecological and sociological conditions pertaining to the project region. Over the years the R&D activities were afflicted with many setbacks due to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and flood events as well as with social challenges, due to the involvement of various partners from different cultural and educational backgrounds. Nevertheless, the technologies’ first-time implementation was accomplished together with German and Indonesian partners from industry, public authorities, NGOs as well as with local communities. Hereby a comprehensive transfer of knowledge was achieved for a vast number of stakeholders. In particular, the ongoing scientific collaboration after commissioning of the pilot plants was essential to accomplish the transition in autonomous operation by the local partners. Since this approach lead to a sustainable utilization, the unique facilities will serve as demonstration objects in the future with the goal to provide comprising knowledge for multiplication attempts to karst and nonkarst regions all over the world showing a similar demand situation. Retrospectively, the key elements for the successful realization of the R&D-project’s objectives were the continuous and far-reaching cooperation with various partners from both countries as well as the personal dedication and & Franz Nestmann franz.nestmann@kit.edu