Emschergenossenschaft Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts: For a modern and sustained water management at the Emscher River

The Emschergenossenschaft was founded in Bochum in 1899 and has been based in Essen since 1910. Its tasks in­­clude man­age­­ment of the Emscher, waste­­­water treat­­ment and flood protection. Due to extensive mining in the area, underground conduits were not fea­­sible as they would have been damaged in the event of subsidence caused by the mining. For this reason, the Emscher, as the main river in the region, and its trib­­utaries were used as open waste waterways. Since mining activities moved north­­ward at the end of the 1980s, sub­­sidence caused by mining is no longer an issue, meaning that underground conduits can now be constructed. The Emscher­genos­­­senschaft has been planning and implementing the Emscher conversion since 1992. This major project is sched­­uled to be completed in 2020 and the Emschergenossenschaft will be investing a total of 4.5 billion euros over a period of 30 years.

The Emscher conversion brings with it considerable economic effects. This pro­­ject will result, on average, in securing or creating approx. 1,400 jobs annually. This is the result of a study conducted by the economic research institute Rhein­isch-West­­­­fälischen Instituts für Wirtschafts­­forschung (RWI). And, if one considers the indirect effects, this number will increase to an average of 3,700 newly created or secured jobs annually.