The reason for the drainage is the imminent installation of the two new Elbe-side caulking gates. This was actually already planned for the past summer half-year of 2022, after the pair of stem gates on the Elbe side were installed on schedule. The new gates are one metre higher, an additional protection of the Ilmenau that is necessary due to climate change.
Construction delays and disrupted supply chains have unfortunately caused a delay in further work overall, so that the time window available until the storm surge season was no longer sufficient."- Stefan Löhn, project manager at the responsible NLWKN operations centre in Lüneburg
Affected are the Stöckter Hafen harbour, the Ilmenau marina and the harbour of the Oberelbe boat club with their permanent and guest moorings. However, according to the NLWKN, the necessary re-closure of the waterway in summer is unavoidable because operations must be guaranteed in winter to protect against storm surges. They are therefore hoping for understanding. According to the plan, the barrage should be passable again at the beginning of September - but the boating season on the Ilmenau will be as good as over by then.
The Ilmenau barrage was completed in 1976 as part of a new protection concept. Disasters such as the storm surge of 1962, in which 340 people lost their lives, were to be prevented. It is the barrage furthest upstream on the Elbe and also the last one before the Geesthacht barrage. The Lower Saxony Water Management, Coastal Defence and Nature Conservation Agency (NLWKN) is responsible for its operation.
