Hundreds of fish found dead in Landwehr Canal
Monday, 19 June
We’re hardly short of apocalyptic signs and evil portents right now but, on Sunday, passersby were shocked to see hundreds of dead fish floating on the surface of the Landwehr Canal, which runs from Kreuzberg to Charlottenburg,
When Berlin experiences heavy rainfall…the city’s pipe system quickly becomes overwhelmed.
According to the Spree-Havel Waterways and Shipping Office, the fish probably died as a result of the sudden heavy rain on Friday and Saturday. Apparently, when Berlin experiences heavy rainfall over a short period of time, the city’s pipe system quickly becomes overwhelmed.
This causes contaminated water from the streets to flow into the sewer, resulting in a lack of oxygen. Essentially, that’s what killed the fish. The Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office is now responsible for skimming the dead fish off the surface of the water, and investigating further into the case.
But the fact that Berlin’s water pipe system becomes easily overwhelmed is not a new problem. According to official spokesman Björn Röske, the Senate is trying to find a solution such as building additional underground retention basins, to avoid future fish massacres.
