Provisional safeguarding notice

The flood events of recent years have shown that it is important to take active precautions to minimize flood damage. One prerequisite for this is to determine the areas that are likely to be flooded in the event of flooding. The Bavarian Water Act (BayWG) therefore obliges the water management authorities to determine and map the floodplains in Bavaria (Art. 46 Para. 1 BayWG).

On the territory of the City of Erlangen, the floodplain on the Eltersdorfer Bach was calculated from river kilometer 0.0 to river kilometer 5.0 and shown in the attached plans. It is expressly pointed out that this is the determination and documentation of a naturally existing hazard situation and not an implemented or modifiable plan.

The basis for determining the floodplain is the 100-year flood (design flood - HQ100). On a statistical average, a 100-year flood is reached or exceeded at a location once every 100 years. As this is an average value, this discharge can also occur several times within 100 years.

The areas flooded during the design flood are shaded vertically and outlined in blue on the overview map at a scale of 1 : 25,000. Detailed maps at a scale of 1 : 2,500 can be inspected at the City of Erlangen, Office for Environmental Protection and Energy Issues, Schuhstraße 40, 91052 Erlangen, 4th floor, room 407, daily during normal office hours from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm (Monday to Thursday) and from 9:30 am to 12 noon (Friday). Please make an appointment in advance: Telephone: 09131/86-1538, e-mail: gewaesserschutz@stadt.erlangen.de. The maps can also be viewed on the Internet at the following address: https://erlangen.de/aktuelles/ausschreibungen-bekanntmachungen.

With this announcement, the areas shown as floodplains are considered provisionally protected areas. This has the following legal effects in particular:

Pursuant to Section 78 (1) sentence 1 in conjunction with (8) of the Federal Water Act (WHG), the designation of new construction areas in outdoor areas in urban land-use plans or other statutes in accordance with the Federal Building Code (BauGB) is prohibited in the provisionally secured floodplain. The prohibition does not apply if the designation serves exclusively to improve flood protection and for urban land-use plans for ports and shipyards (Section 78 para. 1 sentence 2 WHG).

By way of exception, the City of Erlangen (district administrative authority) may permit the designation of new construction areas in derogation of the above-mentioned prohibition in accordance with § 78 Para. 1 Sentence 1 WHG under the conditions of § 78 Para. 2 WHG.

According to Section 78 Para. 3 in conjunction with Para. 8 WHG, the city of Erlangen (municipality) must, when drawing up, amending or supplementing urban land-use plans for areas that are to be assessed according to Section 30 Para. 1 and 2 or Section 34 BauGB, take particular account of the following in the assessment according to Section 1 Para. 7 BauGB

1. the avoidance of adverse effects on upstream and downstream residents,
2. the avoidance of impairment of existing flood protection and
3. the flood-adapted construction of building projects.

This applies accordingly to bylaws in accordance with § 34 Para. 4 and § 35 Para. 6 BauGB.

In accordance with Section 78 Para. 4 Sentence 1 in conjunction with Para. 8 WHG, the construction or extension of building structures in accordance with Sections 30, 33, 34 and 35 BauGB is prohibited. The prohibition does not apply to measures for the development of watercourses, the construction of dykes and dams, watercourse and dyke maintenance and flood protection of the measuring system (Section 78 para. 4 sentence 2 WHG).

Pursuant to Section 78 para. 4 sentence 1 in conjunction with para. 8 WHG, the construction or extension of structural facilities pursuant to Sections 30, 33, 34 and 35 BauGB is prohibited. The prohibition does not apply to measures for the development of watercourses, the construction of dykes and dams, the maintenance of watercourses and dykes and the flood protection of the measuring system (Section 78 para. 4 sentence 2 WHG).

In individual cases, the district-free city of Erlangen (district administrative authority) may, in deviation from Section 78 para. 4 sentence 1 WHG, permit the construction or extension of structural facilities in accordance with Sections 30, 33, 34 and 35 BauGB pursuant to Section 78 para. 5 WHG if

• the project

1. does not or only insignificantly impair flood retention and the loss of lost retention space is compensated for in terms of scope, function and time,
2. does not adversely affect the water level and discharge during floods,
3. does not impair the existing flood protection and
4. is implemented in a flood-adapted manner or

• the adverse effects can be offset by ancillary provisions.

When examining the aforementioned requirements, the effects on the neighborhood must also be taken into account (Section 78 para. 5 sentence 2 WHG).

Pursuant to § 78a Para. 1 in conjunction with Para. 6 WHG, the following is also prohibited in provisionally secured flood areas

1. the construction of walls, embankments or similar structures that may impede the flow of water,
2. the spreading and depositing of substances hazardous to water on the ground, unless the substances may be used in the context of proper agriculture and forestry,
3. the storage of substances hazardous to water outside of facilities,
4. depositing and storing objects that could obstruct water runoff or be washed away for more than a short time,
5. raising or deepening the surface of the ground,
6. the planting of trees and shrubs, insofar as these conflict with the objectives of preventive flood protection pursuant to Section 6 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 6 and Section 75 para. 2 WHG,
7. the conversion of grassland into arable land,
8. the conversion of alluvial forest to another type of use.

The aforementioned prohibitions under Section 78a para. 1 do not apply to measures for watercourse development, the construction of dykes and dams, watercourse and dyke maintenance, flood protection, including measures to improve or restore water inflow or water runoff on retention areas, for measuring measures and for actions that are necessary for the operation of approved facilities or within the scope of approved watercourse uses.

In individual cases, the City of Erlangen (district administrative authority) may permit measures that deviate from the aforementioned prohibitions if

1. the interests of the general public do not conflict with this,
2. flood runoff and flood retention are not significantly impaired and
3. there is no danger to life or health or significant material damage to be feared

or if the adverse effects can be offset by ancillary provisions (Section 78a para. 2 sentence 1 WHG). When examining the requirements of the aforementioned numbers 2 and 3, the effects on the neighborhood must also be taken into account (§ 78a para. 2 sentence 3 WHG).

The approval can be provided with ancillary provisions or revoked, even retrospectively (§ 78a Para. 2 Sentence 2 WHG).

Pursuant to § 78a Para. 3 in conjunction with Para. 6 WHG, in the event of an imminent flood risk, objects pursuant to § 78a Para. 1 No. 4 WHG must be removed immediately from the danger zone by their owner in provisionally secured flood areas.

According to § 78c Para. 1 WHG, the construction of new heating oil consumer plants in provisionally secured flood areas is prohibited. The City of Erlangen may grant exceptions upon request if no other energy sources that are less hazardous to water are available at economically justifiable costs and the heating oil consumer system is constructed in a flood-proof manner.

In provisionally secured flood areas, the requirements of Section 50 of the Ordinance on Installations for Handling Substances Hazardous to Water (AwSV) apply in particular to installations for handling substances hazardous to water[1]. Significant changes to installations for handling substances hazardous to water must be flood-proof at the time of the change. The provisions of Nos. 8.2 and 8.3 of Annex 7 AwSV apply in particular to slurry, liquid manure and silage seepage systems (JGS systems) within the meaning of Section 2 (13) AwSV. In addition, operators of systems subject to mandatory testing in accordance with Section 46 AwSV must observe the test dates and intervals in accordance with Annex 6 AwSV.

The temporary protection is the basis for further decisions by the City of Erlangen - Office for Environmental Protection and Energy Issues - on the designation of a floodplain by statutory order. The temporary protection ends as soon as the ordinance designating the floodplain comes into force or the designation procedure is discontinued. It ends after five years at the latest. In justified individual cases, the deadline can be extended by the City of Erlangen by a maximum of two further years (see Art. 47 Para. 4 BayWG).

Further information:

Determined, provisionally secured and established floodplains are documented for the public in the natural hazards section of the UmweltAtlas Bayern. Further information on floodplains as well as legal bases and information on the designation procedure can also be found at www.iug.bayern.de. Water levels can be obtained from the responsible water management office.

Erlangen, 18.04.2024

City of Erlangen

Office for Environmental Protection and Energy Issues