DW documents the remarkable rehabilitation of Germany’s Emscher River — once called the “crap basin” and Europe’s dirtiest river — now one of Germany’s cleanest, after decades of industrial coal mining left it an open sewage canal.
Key insights:
Over half of the 350km river has been renaturalized, with its course restored after being straightened for industrial use in the early 20th century, and more than 500 species including trout and freshwater crayfish have returned.
A pioneering fourth stage of wastewater treatment at the nearby Deusman Deisen plant — using activated carbon to filter pharmaceutical residues, pesticides, and synthetic fragrances — will become mandatory across the EU by 2045.
Producing one ton of activated carbon typically requires 15 tons of raw material, but a German recycling firm has cut that carbon footprint by over 90%, down to just 0.2 tons of CO₂ per ton.
The €45 million treatment plant represents the world’s largest cloth filter system and serves as a leading model for advanced water purification across Europe.