Thorsten Stolz (SPD), district administrator of the Main-Kinzig district, and political representatives of the municipality of Birstein at the southern foot of the Vogelsberg have demanded more of their own efforts to save and obtain drinking water from the city of Frankfurt.

The background to this is the discussion about the application by the Kinzig water association to the regional council in Darmstadt to extend the award of water rights for the drinking water production areas of Brachttal-Neuenschmidten and Kirchbracht-Illnhausen by 30 years.

In addition, the delivery volume should be increased.

Luise Glaser-Lotz

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Main-Kinzig district.

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The association was founded in the early 1960s as a water procurement association by the cities of Frankfurt and Hanau and the districts of Gelnhausen, Hanau and Schluechtern (today the Main-Kinzig district).

According to their own definition, the task today is to procure "environmentally friendly" drinking water for the Main-Kinzig district as well as for Hanau and Frankfurt, to manage the Kinzigtalsperre near Bad Soden-Salmünster as a flood protection facility and to improve flood protection in the Kinzig catchment area.

For years, citizens and environmental protection organizations have criticized the amount of drinking water that is supplied to Frankfurt.

“The city of Frankfurt must do more when it comes to water: make more efforts to save water and generate more drinking water on its own.

Otherwise, the growth of the city must be limited - if necessary by appropriate guidelines from state development," demanded District Administrator Stolz.

"Overall, we need more awareness and appreciation for the number one food: our water," says a joint statement by the district administrator, Birstein's mayor Fabian Fehl (SPD) and the mayors of the districts of Kirchbracht, Illnhausen, Mauswinkel and Fischborn.

"It's not just about Frankfurt"

According to Stolz, the conversation was not only about the application for further water withdrawal and the concerns of the community, but also about clarifying what can be influenced by the Main-Kinzig district and where its limits are.

This includes the fact that it is not the district that decides on the water rights application and the associated possible conditions, but the Darmstadt regional council.

It is also important to know that the district in the Kinzig water association does not have a majority.

According to Stolz, the district wants to issue its own statement as part of the ongoing application process.

This will include parts of the positions of the municipalities of Brachttal and Birstein, such as the demand to intensify the monitoring of water withdrawal and to shorten the requested period.

Birstein and Brachttal's concern to pump as little water as possible is understandable.

But it is also true that “water does not belong to an individual, but is common property”.

It must be taken into account that towns and communities in the district are also dependent on deliveries from the Kinzig water association, since the funding there does not cover all of their needs.

"So it's not just about Frankfurt, even if the lion's share of the water supply flows there today.

It's also about our region," says Stolz.

conserve groundwater resources

That is why the district, as part of the Kinzig water association, is behind the project to obtain drinking water from the surface water of the Kinzig.

"This is an innovative project with which we will play a pioneering role throughout Hesse," said Stolz, referring to the planned water treatment plant at the Kinzig reservoir.

The project should also be seen against the background of climate change.

The aim is to increase the security of supply with drinking water for the region and, above all, to conserve groundwater resources.

This should start by 2030 at the latest.

According to Stolz, the Kinzig water board decided to commit itself in February on the initiative of the district.

This means that the association's future operating plan for groundwater extraction and surface water extraction will be designed to protect groundwater.

In concrete terms, this means that in the water-rich seasons of winter, spring and autumn, the maximum possible surface water treatment from the Kinzigtalsperre and thus an increase in groundwater resources in Birstein and Brachttal will take place.

This will protect the groundwater resources and thus meet one of the core requirements of the Vogelsberg communities.