RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau , Department of Urban Water Management
On July 10, 2025, the nationally advertised final conference of the WaX joint project AMAREX took place at the VHS Forum Cologne. A total of approximately 70 participants from local authorities, specialist administrations, science, and planning practice accepted the invitation to learn about the research and project results developed in AMAREX and to discuss relevant issues relating to dealing with extreme water-related events in urban areas. Since the project started in February 2022, AMAREX has focused on improving rainwater management and functionally adapting blue-green infrastructure to extreme events such as heavy rainfall and drought in order to provide municipalities with valuable assistance in adapting to the consequences of climate change in relation to water.
After the welcome and a thematic introduction to the event by the project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Dittmer (RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau), greetings were given by the host, StEB Cologne (Mr. Heinz Brandenburg), and the municipalities involved as network partners. Both Ms. Henriette Reker, Mayor of the City of Cologne, and Ms. Regina Gnirss, Head of Research and Development at Berliner Wasserbetriebe, emphasized the importance and relevance of the research fields addressed in AMAREX and the resulting support for municipal climate change adaptation. Dr. Benni Thiebes (German Committee for Disaster Prevention) then reported on the focal points of the Water Extreme Events (WaX) funding measure and the Aqua-X-Net networking and transfer project.
The first part of the event concluded with an overview presentation on the issues and work content of AMAREX. The leaders of the work packages reported on the main topics in the fields of heavy rain prevention (Dr. Christian Scheid, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau), drought prevention (Ralf Minke, University of Stuttgart), urban water management (Dr. Andreas Matzinger, KWB), socio-economics (Dr. Jenny Tröltzsch, Ecologic Institute), and the AMAREX planning tool (Ninett Rosenfeld, Technology Foundation Berlin).
The second part of the afternoon event was devoted entirely to the results and tools developed by AMAREX in the aforementioned fields of action. Guests visited the “Innovation Marketplace” in small groups with great interest, where they were able to test the various AMAREX tools or watch demonstrations, obtain background information, and discuss the details of the results. Among other things, a utility volume calculator for cisterns, a tool for evaluating the flood mitigation effects of RWB+ systems, the development level of the ABIMO water balance model, and system profiles with socio-economic evaluations were demonstrated. A separate station at the marketplace demonstrated the AMAREX web tool for municipal planning support as a central result component of the project.
Following the closing conference, a final short workshop with municipal stakeholders was held under the motto “Deepening and Co-creation.” At three different theme tables, further testing of the tools was made possible, their adaptation and consolidation were discussed, and future prospects as well as challenges for the application of AMAREX results at the municipal level were debated.
The lively discussions and conversations both at the stations of the “Innovation Marketplace” and in the in-depth workshop confirmed the high relevance of all research fields addressed in AMAREX. The presentation of the web tool in particular met with a great response: an accompanying survey showed that the tool was rated as helpful, compatible, and urgently needed. Various municipalities signaled concrete interest in transferring the tool to their urban areas and spoke out in favor of further developing and consolidating the project results. The professional exchange and active participation of stakeholders, municipalities, and scientists made the event an important impetus for future application in municipal practice.