Consortium KAHR 2.0

• Ahrweiler
  

  The district of Ahrweiler in northern Rhineland-Palatinate consists of three cities, four municipalities (comprising a total of 70 local communities), and one independent municipality, covering an area of 787 km². The district has a total population of approximately 130,000.

  Our primary goal within the KAHR project is the future-oriented, resilient reconstruction of the Ahr Valley. Our task is to translate the insights gained into practical applications and establish them as concepts or measures in the Ahr Valley. As a practical partner, the Ahrweiler District Administration serves as the link between academia and the practical reconstruction efforts on the ground.

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• Civil Engineering, Koblenz University of Applied Sciences
  

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• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH - UFZ
  

  The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig aims to identify ways to reconcile a healthy environment with societal development through interdisciplinary research. The Environmental Risks and Extreme Events working group within the Department of Urban and Environmental Sociology focuses on the consequences and perceptions of hydro-meteorological extreme events, with a particular emphasis on the interaction between environmental hazards, such as floods, and society.

  The UFZ is investigating, as part of KAHR 2.0, how different societal groups perceive flood risks and what expectations they have regarding technical or natural flood protection measures. The study also examines questions of justice, such as how the perceived advantages and disadvantages of these measures differ between upstream and downstream regions along rivers.

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• Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences - GFZ
  

  The GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) in Potsdam focuses on research into the Earth system. While the primary focus is on improving our understanding of systems and processes, the center also analyzes interactions with humans and develops strategies and recommendations for action. In this context, the research and analysis of natural hazards such as flooding, as well as strategies for risk reduction that take global change into account, play a particularly important role.

  We develop locally specific climate scenarios as a basis for protection goals and measures, and work with industry partners to develop extreme scenarios for current and future climate conditions. Using hydrological and hydraulic models, we analyze how the effectiveness of flood protection measures changes under climate change conditions—including worst-case scenarios and risk assessments. Our work contributes to the further development of climate-resilient methods, supports water management and spatial planning, and promotes knowledge transfer to other regions.

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• Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, RWTH Aachen University
  

  The Chair and the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management (IWW) address issues related to flood protection, among other topics, using an engineering-based approach and often employing an interdisciplinary methodology. In addition to field measurements, the IWW’s scientific methods include hydraulic model experiments and hydrodynamic simulations.

  The IWW’s objective in the KAHR 2.0 project is to analyze retention potential and examine the effectiveness of traditional and innovative flood protection measures under climate change conditions. As the entity responsible for the project office, the IWW also serves as a coordinator and information disseminator on-site for affected parties and interested stakeholders.

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• Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning, University of Stuttgart
  

  The Institute of Spatial and Regional Planning at the University of Stuttgart (IREUS) addresses issues in the fields of spatial and environmental planning as well as spatial risk management. In its research, the institute focuses in particular on empirically grounded, impact-oriented spatial, environmental, and risk research, pursuing an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach that integrates research from the fields of planning and engineering with that of environmental, economic, and social sciences.

  The IREUS’s goals in the KAHR 2.0 project are to further develop differentiated protection objectives—particularly with regard to the protection needs of different population groups, land uses, and critical and sensitive infrastructure—the evaluation of the application and impact of new legislation, the strengthening of knowledge transfer and the exchange of experiences, and the co-development of a digital tool for documenting and transferring key findings and best-practice examples.

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• Regional Development and Risk Management, TU Dortmund University
  

  The Research Group of Regional Development and Risk Management (RER) at the Department of Spatial Planning at the Technical University of Dortmund conducts research on spatial risks, climate impacts, vulnerabilities, and planning strategies for resilient settlement and infrastructure systems. The focus is particularly on flood and heavy rain risks, critical infrastructure, spatial risk management tools, and the question of how risk analyses can be effectively integrated into planning, governance, and reconstruction processes.

  In the KAHR 2.0 project, the RER is investigating how reconstruction processes following the 2021 flood disaster can be designed to be more risk-based, climate-adapted, and resilient in the long term. To this end, RER combines spatial hazard, exposure, and vulnerability analyses with the evaluation of specific reconstruction measures, particularly relocations, damage-mitigation measures, and the further development of funding and planning frameworks.

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• Wasserverband Eifel-Rur
  

  The Eifel-Rur Water Board (Wasserverband Eifel-Rur) treats domestic and industrial wastewater generated in the German Rur river basin—from the Northern Eifel to the Heinsberg region and from Aachen to Düren—at 43 wastewater treatment plants. This involves a total wastewater volume averaging between 125 and 130 million cubic meters. In connection with wastewater treatment, it also manages approximately 800 special structures such as stormwater retention basins and pumping stations. It also maintains 1,900 kilometers of waterways and performs flood protection tasks on flowing waterways. To this end, it operates, among other things, 53 flood retention basins.

  In addition, it operates six dams in the Northern Eifel with a total storage capacity of approximately 300 million cubic meters, supports drinking water treatment in the region with its water reserves, and ensures the supply of process water to water-using industrial and commercial enterprises.

  The association is headquartered in Düren and employs approximately 620 people. The association’s service area covers 2,087 km² and is home to approximately 1.1 million people.

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