"...from the town hall" - 12.01.2024

Dear fellow residents,

It was a close call. Without the dam beams built on the flood protection wall, the Moselle would have visited us again in the town center of Zell.

This time it was a game of poker for many of the affected residents: should I evacuate or not?

As a precaution, everyone had probably prepared themselves from their experience with the Moselle that it would come over "the wall" again. Despite high water levels in Trier (8.73 m on 3.1.24) and Zeltingen (9.17 m on 3.1.24), we still had a reserve of around 20 - 25 cm before the water would have reached the height of the dam.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped the affected residents to clear the dam. I have been told that even vacation guests offered to help.

The "Wir für Zell" group supported our municipal workers. workers and filled sandbags as a precaution. This could have prevented or delayed the inflow of water at the port.

Many thanks to all the helpers!

Environment Minister and President of SGD Nord visit Zell

The Minister for Climate Protection, Environment, Energy and Mobility for Rhineland-Palatinate, Ms. Katrin Eder, accompanied by the President of SGD Nord, Mr. Wolfgang Treis, and his staff visited our town on Thursday, 3.1.24 to find out about the situation, in particular regarding the flood protection wall.

Mayor Jürgen Hoffmann, town mayor Hans-Peter Döpgen, accompanied by our 1st deputy Karlheinz Weis and building yard manager Jens Meier, explained the local situation and the measures to keep Zell free from flooding.

In addition to the wall with the dam beams, the pumping station by the pedestrian bridge is a particularly important part of this. Two large, powerful pumps are located here, which pump surface water from the inner town area into the Moselle. Both pumps were completely overhauled in the factory last year at great expense and are now available again without restriction as new pumps. This has "paid off" in the current situation.

v.l.n.r.: Wolfgang Treis, Hans-Peter Döpgen, Katrin Eder, Jürgen Hoffmann, Karlheinz Weis

However, the control and regulation technology is still from the 1980s. It urgently needs to be renewed and modernized. I have approached Minister Eder about this and raised her awareness. The joints on the outside of the quarry stone facing of the flood wall also need to be renovated. Over the years, both the joints between the quarry stones and the filling material between the expansion joints have deteriorated.

The actual wall construction consists of a concrete wall behind the quarry stones. This is faced on the outside and inside with quarry stones. Now, when the water level is high, water pushes behind the facing stones and reaches the outside via the crown of the concrete inner wall and runs out of the joints between the quarry stones onto the sidewalk. The Minister and SGD Nord were open to both the renovation of the wall and the renewal of the technology. This will be another area of work for the town of Zell (Mosel) in conjunction with the state in the near future.

New Year's reception postponed

At the time of the deadline for the newsletter, it was not foreseeable whether the Moselle would burst its banks and flood the city center. With the water level rising sharply at the Trier gauge, it was appropriate for us to postpone the New Year's reception for preventative reasons.

We decided early on to postpone the New Year's reception to

Wednesday, January 17 at 7 p.m. in the Schwarze Katz Hall in Zell.

All residents are cordially invited to this new date!

I would be delighted if I could welcome many residents.

New Year's concert postponed

For the same reason, we have also decided to postpone the New Year's concert.

We were able to arrange a new date with the artist. Ms. Agnes Selma Weiland will now sing on Saturday, 4 May 2024 at 7.00 pm in the "Schwarze Katz" hall in Zell. The tickets sold remain valid for the new date. Advance sales continue for the postponed event. Tickets are available again for €20 from Zeller Land Tourismus GmbH at Zell Town Hall.

New year

Half of the first month of the new year is already behind us. Nevertheless, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all, dear residents, a happy, peaceful and disaster-free 2024. May happiness, health, well-being and always having a loved one by your side be your companions throughout the year.

With this in mind, have a wonderful week

Your

Town Mayor

Hans-Peter Döpgen