Kiliansteich Dam
Encyclopedia
The Kiliansteich is one of the oldest dammed reservoirs in Germany. The reservoir is located near Straßberg (Harz) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt
and supplies drinking water. It impounds the Büschengraben
stream. The lake is part of the heritage area (Flächendenkmal) of the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System
.
The reservoir has a rockfill dam with a watertight clay core that sits on a shale
bedrock.
Originally laid as a drinking water reservoir, the lake is used today for flood and drought protection.
The dam on the original "Lower Kilian Pond" (Unterer Kiliansteich) was about 10 m high and had a retaining capacity of 165,000 m³. During the course of renovation the old wooden bottom outlet was salvaged on 25 September 1990 as the result on an initiative by Erika and Siegfried Lorenz. Following long-term conservation work at the Harzwasserwerke
n in Clausthal-Zellerfeld
, who paid for the cost of transports and conservation, it was returned on 19 August 2010 to Straßberg. The wooden raceway is now a museum piece in the Glasebach Pit
.
See also:
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
and supplies drinking water. It impounds the Büschengraben
Büschengraben
Büschengraben is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.-See also:*List of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt...
stream. The lake is part of the heritage area (Flächendenkmal) of the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System
Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System
Within the Lower Harz region are still many traces of the historical water management facilities used by the mining industry. In addition to water-carrying ditches and ponds, there are also long-abandoned ditches and dry pond beds...
.
The reservoir has a rockfill dam with a watertight clay core that sits on a shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
bedrock.
History
Originally there four small ponds in a row on the site of the present-day reservoir that had been built for the mining industry. Two of those were broken in 1901 and 1944 and all were in a poor condition. As a result from 1989-1994 a new, higher dam was built at the site of the lowest dam; the two middle ponds were removed and the upper one, the Upper Kilian Pond (Oberer Kiliansteich), built in 1703, was upgraded into a pre-dam (Vorsperre).Originally laid as a drinking water reservoir, the lake is used today for flood and drought protection.
The dam on the original "Lower Kilian Pond" (Unterer Kiliansteich) was about 10 m high and had a retaining capacity of 165,000 m³. During the course of renovation the old wooden bottom outlet was salvaged on 25 September 1990 as the result on an initiative by Erika and Siegfried Lorenz. Following long-term conservation work at the Harzwasserwerke
Harzwasserwerke
The Harzwasserwerke is a German water company and dam operator with the primary tasks of supplying drinking water, generating electrical power, flood protection and the maintenance of the Upper Harz Water Regale...
n in Clausthal-Zellerfeld
Clausthal-Zellerfeld
Clausthal-Zellerfeld is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the southwestern part of the Harz mountains. Its population is approximately 15,000, Clausthal-Zellerfeld is also the seat of the Samtgemeinde Oberharz....
, who paid for the cost of transports and conservation, it was returned on 19 August 2010 to Straßberg. The wooden raceway is now a museum piece in the Glasebach Pit
Glasebach Pit
The Glasebach Pit is a mining museum and former pit in the Harz fluorspar mining area near Straßberg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is run by the East Harz Mining Society...
.
See also:
- List of dams in Germany