Germany floods its coal pits to build Europe's largest artificial lake district
Germany turning abandoned coal mines into 23 lakes, becoming artificial wetland
In Lusatia, between Berlin and Dresden, decades of lignite mining left vast open pits across Brandenburg and Saxony. Since Lake Senftenberg first filled in 1967, 23 post-mining lakes have been created, covering roughly 14,000 hectares. In 2025 Sedlitzer See hit its target level, and in June 2026 five lakes were linked by navigable canals into a continuous 5,100-hectare waterway, with 13 canals planned. Forests, grasslands and wetlands are returning to the spoil heaps.
What began with the flooding of a single former mine in 1967 has consequently grown into a decades-long landscape transformation involving two dozen lakes, interconnected waterways and thousands of hectares of reclaimed land.
- m4rtink
This is quite normal thing to do for many open pit mines or rather hard not to do if the pit goes below the water table.
There are some very nice natural swimming pools in the local area thanks to that, for example:
https://www.kudyznudy.cz/aktivity/koupaliste-u-libuse-v-lule... (stone quarry, IMHO one of the best summer swimming pools anywhere)
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zatopen%C3%BD_lom_v_Blansku (stone quarry)
https://www.jednoustopouceskem.cz/listing/lom-kaolinka-prime... (kaolin mine)
- larusso
This report seems to be a bit one-sided. They say the lakes will be used as reservoirs for rivers like the spree. The issue is that the spree was feed for years with excess water from the old mines which had to pump the water out. Now they don’t pump water anymore to fill up these lakes and some parts of the spree run low on water during summer. The water table fell a lot over the last 10 to 20 years in Berlin. I’m not sure what exactly contributed to this situation overall. But they had plans to pump water from the Elbe into the Spree to help out with the situation. But cities downstream are not happy about the situation. For me this feels like a somewhat similar situation to the Colorado River situation with the upper and lower basins.
https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2026/07/wasser-mangel-...
- martin_a
To provide a counterpoint that is missing in the article: Conservation organizations are somewhat skeptical that these projects might take much longer and be more expensive than planned, due to climate change.
Projects like Garzweiler and Hambach were expected to take 25 to 30 years to fill up, but with droughts like this summer it might take much longer and the water would have to be diverted from already stressed ecosystems like the Rhine.
This whole topic has become much more complicated in the last years...
- wewewedxfgdf
Mining operations often are toxic environments for various reasons aren't they?
- bwnkl
I remember when I first read about the plans to fill up the Hambach Pit near Cologne, one of Europe's largest open coal mines, until I realized I will be dead by the time it's filled up. I call it the Rhineland's Grand Canyon for a reason, it's huge.
- axus
Haunted Hydrology's video for October 8 is about divers in flooded mines:
- Aboutplants
This reminds of a retirement community that was developed in Rome, GA on the site of an old limestone quarry.
https://www.thw.com/projects/49-senior-living/323-berry-coll...
Turning old brownfield into usable and livable space is a win all around
- zeristor
Where did they get the water from?
Or is only SE England where there’s hardly been any rain.