Sustainable flood protection in two respects

The coastline of the island of Sylt is known to be subject to erosion, particularly in the area of the Westerland seawall. In order to prevent the progressive erosion of the coastline, the existing seawall, originally built in 1912 and reinforced in 1923, had to be preserved in its protective function. This was also decisive and had to be taken into account in the construction of the new building. The entire flood protection system was in a poor condition, so there was an acute need for action. In addition to remedying the poor condition of the existing seawall, an increase in the height of the coastal protection system was planned and implemented, taking future climate change into account. The current wall height no longer met the technical standard to ward off storm surge events. The new flood protection system has a protection level of +6.95 m above sea level according to the current technical standard. In the future, the wall can be raised to NHN +7.45 m with relatively little effort and thus already takes account of the expected climate change. Sustainable construction in two respects, preserving the existing building and taking into account future adaptation to climate change. The construction company Gebr. Echterhoff GmbH & Co. KG - Hamburg branch - successfully carried out the construction of five sections out of a total of nine, with a length of approx. 355 m and a total length of approx. 665 m.