Beberbach (Schunter)

Creek, straightened and renatured

The Beberbach is a creek on the southern edge of the Pape Teicher plateau and in the northern city of Braunschweig. The river has a catchment area of about 14 sq km and flows into the Schunter just before it empties into the Oker.

Topography

The Beberbach occurs northeast of the city of Brunswick in the district of Helmstedt between the towns Essenrode and Wendhausen in the state forest doctrine. There is no actual source of the damp forest floor drains in several origin trenches. The official presentation of the NLWKN shows erroneously an agricultural drainage ditch in Gifhorn as the source area. The topographic map 1:25 000 seems to have been very arbitrary and drawn here in every Year differently. The Beberbach then crosses under the provincial road 639 ( L639 ) and flows into many turns in the main direction west by Bevenrode, north between Waggum and the artificially created from the dredging of the Mittelland Canal increase " fag " over and between Bienrode and Bechtsbüttel through towards turning. Here it flows into the Schunter. Notably recognized inflows it receives from the giant moat (from right), from the clay pit (left ) and from Becht büttel digging ( from the right). Exposure to the sewage treatment plants of Bevenrode and Waggum and direct discharges of pollutants expressed the water quality earlier in a critical area. These values ​​are better today after plant closure. Striking is the strongly fluctuating water levels between trickle during dry periods and torrential stream after snow melt or heavy rainfall. Earlier water channels in front of large deforestation in the Middle Ages, the arable and meadow drainage of the modern era and the embankments of the former marshland at Waggum with the dredging of the Mittelland canal in the 30s of the 20th century ( " dump " ) can only be surmised. In 2013 it came to heavy rainfall in the area Hondelager St. in Bevenrode to short-term flooding and basement flooding. Marked both in its upper reaches in today's district of Helmstedt and in the lower reaches of the Beberbach since 1705/ 06, the boundary between the Welf lines Braunschweig -Wolfenbüttel and Braunschweig -Lüneburg (Hanover). Because of its relatively steep gradient (3.6 ‰ ), he is counted among the mountains streams. From the confluence with the Schunter to Bevenrode he is considered to be waters of the second order (responsible: Entertainment Association Schunter ) of Bevenrode up as waters III. Order ( entertainment subject: Civil Engineering Department of the City of Brunswick ). Between Bienrode and turning wearing a Road ( County Road 81, the old B4 ) the name " On Beberbach ". The name Beberbach / Bever creek enters V.A. in northern Germany on several occasions and can probably deduce "Beaver " of the word.

Renaturation

After leaving its source forest, the Beberbach flows in its upper reaches, especially in intensively used agricultural land. For this he was further expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, straightened and secured with fascines. After the fascines were far from being repaired, they are almost completely disappeared and the stream slowly creates again a tortuous bed.

In 1999, it has an action group consisting formed from the local fishing club, the environment, forestry and the Federal Property Administration, the Consumer Association Schunter, the highway department Wolfenbüttel and local farmers. The following year, the first restoration measures were carried out in the middle reaches in the area of ​​contact. Under these measures, the Beberbach a broad Auebereich was created, which is already flooded with slightly elevated water level. Other sections of the old stream course were designed structurally rich with stone barriers at the river surface. Another effect of the stone barriers is the formation of potholes that keep the water in the dry fall of the stream. Today, the creek has returned to about two kilometers in a natural bed. Currently (2013 ) the city plans Brunswick, the restoration of a large part of the upper reaches.

Flora and Fauna

The Beberbach Although hemmed on long stretches of trees, but there are still long stretches without shade shore plants. The seabed consists of sand, silt and gravel. The Water Quality Report 2002 of Lower Saxony classifies the Beberbach as a critically polluted (class II -III). Main reason for this classification is to regularly fall dry the creek. Correspondingly, the community of life in the stream mainly is made up of organisms that are adapted to only periodically water-bearing waters. Only about 30% of the organisms found were identified as typical floating aquatic organisms. There you will find 9 species that are performed on the Red List of Lower Saxony:

• A subspecies of mayflies - Siphlonuridae armatus
• Three subspecies of caddis fly
• Five subspecies of the Long- button water beetle

In addition there are a number of fish in Beberbach, especially in the renatured areas, such as the stone loach, stickleback, gudgeon, perch, loach, roach, chub and pike. By far the most abundant fish species are the stone loach and sticklebacks.