Dogs pee over 100 broken lanterns – one has already snapped

Created: 05/25/2022, 16:39

By: Oliver Schmitz

Dog urine has caused lasting damage to aluminum lamp posts.

(IDZRW assembly) © Ole Spata/dpa & City of Viersen

In Viersen, more than a hundred lampposts have to be replaced because they were badly damaged by too much dog urine.

You could be out longer now.

Viersen – Unusual case of property damage in North Rhine-Westphalia: A number of lampposts in the Lower Rhine town of Viersen were so badly damaged by peeing dogs that they had to be replaced.

According to the city, more than 100 street lamps have already been discovered during inspections and are no longer allowed to remain standing.

Viersen: Aluminum lampposts can't withstand dog urine - one buckled

The problem with the lampposts was noticed a few weeks ago after a storm when an aluminum lamppost snapped off a promenade, as reported by 24RHEIN.

“Because this mast is first in line, it gives the dogs the first port of call to do their business.

Maybe that's why this mast was the first to break," reports city spokesman Frank Schliffke.

The aluminum lamp posts in Viersen cannot withstand dog urine in the long term. © Stadt Viersen

The problem is actually the material of the lamp posts.

The city spokesman explains that the ammonia in the dog's urine, salts, water and the aluminum reacted with each other.

“This chemical reaction leads to corrosion.

As a result, this weakens the mast so much that it is no longer stable.” Street lamps that are on unpaved terrain are at risk.

Instead of dogs, cats are more of a problem in the Baden-Württemberg town of Walldorf.

To protect an endangered bird, they now have a ban on going out.

Dog urine damages street lamps: masts in Viersen are cut off

Because of the urine damage, the city of Viersen has now announced that it will cut off the first aluminum masts this Wednesday for safety reasons.

“The lamp heads are removed beforehand.

In the future, they will serve as spare parts for other lanterns in the city.”

The aluminum masts are to be replaced by steel masts.

However, there are currently enormous delivery bottlenecks for the steel replacement.

"It is therefore not foreseeable when the lanterns can go back into operation." The city no longer wants to use aluminum poles in the future.