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Consequences of the Oder environmental catastrophe: What Baltic Sea vacationers need to know now

2022-08-15T16:04:31.134Z


Masses of fish have died in the Oder, the cause is still unclear. What is the situation in the lidos at the Szczecin Lagoon and on Usedom? The overview.


Enlarge image

Beach in Ueckermünde before the Oder poisoning

Photo:

Maurice Tricatelle / Zoonar / Alamy Stock Photos / mauritius images

Last weekend, Jürgen Kliewe, the mayor of Ueckermünde, made his way to the beach himself to answer questions from concerned guests in the seaside resort in midsummer temperatures.

They wanted to know whether, given the news about the environmental catastrophe in the Oder, they could go into the water or should they stay on land.

Ueckermünde is on the mainland in front of Usedom on the Szczecin Lagoon, into which the Oder flows and which is connected to the Baltic Sea.

The Szczecin Lagoon is now the focus of the alarmed authorities in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

With around 900 square kilometers, it is about twice the size of Lake Constance.

Two thirds of it belongs to Poland.

more on the subject

  • Pollutant analysis of the Oder water: "It's like looking for a needle in a haystack" An interview by Malte Göbel

  • Fish deaths in the Oder: Oil barriers are intended to limit the spread of carcasses

  • Extreme low water: Brandenburg closes locks in the Spreewald – emergency fishing possible

  • Environmental disaster in the Oder: "No one knows what's in the dead fish" An interview by Verena Töpper

Kliewe has repeatedly explained the current situation to tourists: There is no official bathing ban.

So far no dead fish have been found on the German side of the Szczecin Lagoon in Ueckermünde.

A precautionary warning was nevertheless issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

The corresponding notices are posted everywhere in Ueckermünde - at the beach entrances, at the kiosk and in the toilets: Fishing in the Small Lagoon should be avoided at the moment, as should the use of the water and the withdrawal of water and "use for human purposes". .

Typical German official German.

In any case, Kliewe made the following clear not only to the bathers, but also in a phone call to SPIEGEL on Monday afternoon: “Adults can go swimming.

However, we also had blue-green algae at the end of last week, so allergy sufferers should be careful.

Babies and small children, on the other hand, shouldn't splash around in the lagoon at the moment, they could swallow water.« The mayor thinks it's good to be careful.

Should something come from the Oder: "We can block everything here within an hour," says Kliewe.

And yet: On Monday afternoon, the state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania advised against swimming in

Ueckermünde

and at

the following other potentially endangered bathing areas on the Szczecin Lagoon

as a precaution:

  • Altwarp village

  • Altwarp Settlement

  • Bellin (the bathing ban applies here in principle, regardless of current events)

  • grambin

  • Mönkebude

  • birdsong

  • Also in Rieth am Neuwarper See

It is a precautionary measure, said a spokeswoman for the Schwerin Ministry of Health.

As soon as reliable information is available, the reports will be updated or the all-clear will be given.

"Due to the water pollution of the Oder, as long as there is no precise information available for bathing waters in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania that may be influenced by Oder water, bathing is not recommended for precautionary reasons," says the warning notices that were viewed on this bathing water map by the state government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania can become.

For the

Baltic Sea coast on Usedom

, the District Administrator of Western Pomerania-Greifswald, Michael Sack, gave SPIEGEL the all-clear on Monday: "The Baltic Sea coast of the island is not affected, the best bathing conditions prevail here." In Ueckermünde, on the other hand, Mayor Kliewe wants to reassess the situation on Tuesday morning .

With material from dpa

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2022-08-15

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