“For more than a century, Germany’s Emscher river carried sewage and industrial sludge through the Ruhr, earning a reputation as an open sewer. Now, after a massive cleanup, the river is becoming a thriving ecosystem once again,” reports The Doomslayer.
The Guardian reports on “how Europe’s dirtiest river was brought back to life”:
“For more than a century, putrid fumes emanated from the ‘sewer of the Ruhr’, creating a pungent whiff that assaulted towns throughout Germany’s industrial heartland. But today, the Emscher bears little resemblance to Europe’s dirtiest river. Water that used to be fouled by factory waste and human excrement have been free from effluent since 2021. The river system, the main part of which was once considered biologically dead, is witnessing the return of an abundance of life.
Nature enthusiasts have spotted lapwings, kingfishers and demoiselles in the region, along with freshwater shrimp, caddis flies, and even beavers. In May, scientists reported that red-finned rudd from the Rhine had re-established themselves….
The Emscher runs through the heart of Germany’s densely populated Ruhr region, a rusty mess of cities that sprung up around coalmines and factories as the Industrial Revolution kicked off. In the 1800s, the rapidly growing population was plagued by waterborne diseases, such as typhoid and cholera, which killed workers and stalled the economic boom….Alarmed by the hit to their profits, the Ruhr industrial barons sought to improve public health. They founded the first water management association in the country….they decided to dump the waste into the meandering Emscher, which they straightened and lined with concrete.
For over a century, the river that flows through Paris (the Seine) was so dirty that it was illegal to swim in it. But now, it has become so clean that swimming in it was recently legalized by the City of Paris.
