Feasibility study to assess the pollutant load of sediments as a result of the July flood 2021 in the transition from the low mountain range to the lowland area

2021年7月13日至16日，北莱茵-威斯特伐利亚和莱茵兰-帕拉特纳的大片地区受到极端洪水的影响。北莱茵-威斯特伐利亚洪水事件的焦点包括杜伦、尤斯基兴、海因斯堡、莱茵-埃尔夫特地区和亚琛城区。特别是，根据死亡人数和受影响人数、经济损失数额，以及水位和排水量，可以将其评估为洪灾发生后不久发生的极端洪灾事件。洪水事件经常被忽视的一个方面是污染物(油、油漆、重金属、痕量物质、其他化学品、细菌和病毒等)，它们在洪水事件期间被动员或重新动员并带入水体。这些污染物要么沉积在洪泛区、花园、街道或其他洪泛区(如地下室)，要么被输送到海洋中。这可能会导致污染物在受影响的沉淀区大量积累。目前尚不清楚在2021年7月的洪水期间，有多少污染物被带到了水体中，也不清楚现在是否可以在泛滥平原的表面找到这些污染物。这就是这里申请的特别项目的用武之地。该项目的目的是调查2021年7月斯托尔贝格和埃施韦勒周围地区是否发生了因洪水事件而产生的“有毒洪水”，该地区以受污染的场地和金属加工业为特征。为此，应对洪灾期间和洪灾后采集的水、沉积物和淤泥样本进行分析和评估。

Large areas of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate were affected by extreme flooding between 13 and 16 July 2021. Focal points of the flood events in North Rhine-Westphalia included the districts of Düren, Euskirchen, Heinsberg, the Rhine-Erft district and the Aachen city region. In particular, the number of fatalities and people affected, the amount of economic damage, but also the level of water levels and discharges allow an assessment as an extreme flood event already shortly after the flood event. A frequently neglected aspect of flood events are pollutants (oils, paints, heavy metals, trace substances, other chemicals, bacteria and viruses, etc.), which are mobilised or remobilised during the flood event and carried into the water body. These pollutants are either deposited in floodplains, gardens, streets or other flooded areas (e.g. basements) or transported into the seas and oceans. This can lead to a considerable accumulation of pollutants in the affected sedimentation areas. It is currently unclear what quantities of pollutants were carried into the water bodies during the July flood of 2021 and whether these can now be found on floodplain surfaces. This is where the ad hoc project applied for here comes in. The aim of the project is to investigate whether a "toxic flood" occurred as a result of the flood event in July 2021 in the region around Stolberg and Eschweiler, which is characterised by contaminated sites and metal processing industry. For this purpose, water, sediment and sludge samples taken during and after the flood event are to be analysed and evaluated.