As the recent successful referendum against the planned MediaSpree development indicates, the river Spree and its leafy banks remain one of Berlin’s most contested natural resources, and is a central concern to the city’s urban evolution. Along with its sister, the Havel, the river is the source of 70% of the Berlin’s drinking water, and its course through the heart of the city offers residents countless opportunities for leisure with its popular beach bars and bicycle trails, not to mention the prize winning Badeschiff.

Unfortunately, the Spree is also used to dump millions of cubic meters of untreated sewage into each year, resulting in a toxic stew of household effluents and industrial runoff. The aim of the Spree2011 project is to reverse this trend and return the Spree to an ecologically sound state by the year 2011, increasing the quality of life for city residents and contributing to a sustainable urban infrastructure. At this new exhibition at AedesLand, the architects and engineers involved in this grand project will present their proposals and report on the status of their pilot water treatment plant, scheduled to go into service at Osthafen later this year.

Grab your waterwings and join speakers Kristin Feireiss, director of Aedes Berlin, and Prof. Dr. Hagen Eyink of the of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, as they welcome the project teams and their vision for a swimmable Spree.