The Remswelle project

Questions and objections

A wave in a river raises questions. That is as it should be. Here are the most common ones – and the answers we can give today. Where we don't know yet, we say so.

Will the wave worsen flood protection?

It must not, and the permitting authority will not allow it either. Modern river waves such as those in Nuremberg or Hanover work with adjustable ramps that are moved out of the water as the water level rises; the flow cross-section then remains as it is today. For the Rems, the proof is part of the feasibility study and later of the water-law procedure. In addition: the weir in Winterbach is itself a flood protection structure – the outlet structure of the Schorndorf/Winterbach flood retention basin of the Rems Water Board (Wasserverband Rems); the Ostlandstraße bridge is the dam at which the gates are closed during floods. That is why the water board is our first partner for talks: the protective function is a condition for everything else. → Flood protection on the Rems

What about the fish?

The EU Water Framework Directive requires that fish can pass a weir. In Nuremberg the wave was therefore built with a fish pass. How a conversion of the Remswehr affects fish and river ecology will be clarified by the ecological assessment in the procedure – with experts, not with guesswork. For us, fish passage is a condition, not a bargaining chip: an installation must remain passable – for example lowerable as in Pforzheim or with a bypass as in Nuremberg. How this can be achieved at the Remswehr will be clarified by the feasibility study together with the experts. For us, the holder of the fishing rights is among the first partners for talks.

Does the Rems even have enough water?

Not on every day. The natural current is usually not enough for a wave; it has to be created by impoundment, constriction or a ramp. The decisive figure is on how many days a year enough water flows. The feasibility study will calculate that. Other waves show that smaller rivers work too: the Fuchslochwelle in Nuremberg is on the Pegnitz, the blackforestwave in Pforzheim on the Nagold. → How a standing wave forms

Is the water clean enough?

That is the question on which the Neckarwelle in Stuttgart failed in 2019 – on germ counts that the State Health Office had measured over a season. No such measurements exist for the Rems; it is not a designated bathing water. What does exist is the assessment under the EU Water Framework Directive: the organic pollution in the Winterbach section is "good", and the Rems is a small river with no large city upstream. That is a reason for confidence, not proof. We are aware that water quality is a decisive factor, and we will provide the corresponding evidence – following the model of the Bathing Water Directive and in agreement with the public health office. → Water quality of the Rems

Does anyone actually want this?

Demand at the existing waves exceeds supply. The Nuremberg Dauerwelle has around 500 members who surf seven days a week, and is advertising its next courses for spring 2027; the Leinewelle in Hanover counted more than 400 members and more than 2,400 surfing hours in its first year of operation; in Pforzheim, the only wave in Baden-Württemberg, the club grew from 175 members at the opening to over 200; in Thun the club has over 400 members. At the German Championships in Rapid Surfing at "Die Finals" 2026 in Hanover, 9,000 to 10,000 spectators came per day, more than ever at a surfing event in Germany. And the Stuttgart region has 2.8 million inhabitants and not a single river wave. → Operators and operation

What do children and young people get out of it?

A sport that many find attractive of their own accord – outdoors, by the water, with people their own age. Like skateboarding, surfing is one of the youth movement cultures, and only about one child in four in Germany is as physically active as the World Health Organization recommends. A wave on the doorstep makes surfing accessible without a long-distance trip. We do not claim that a wave solves young people's problems or replaces therapy; first studies of surf programmes are encouraging, but small. → Children and young people · → What research says

Will it be noisy? Where will people park?

A river wave rushes – roughly like water at a rapid. Visitors will come; that is the point. Winterbach has a suburban rail connection and the Rems valley cycle path; an operating concept with fixed surfing times, as practised in Nuremberg and Hanover, keeps operation predictable. There are no residential buildings directly adjoining the structure. What sounds arise from water, operation and visitors, and how they are to be assessed, must be taken into account by an operating concept.

What does it cost, and who pays?

Honestly: we don't know yet. For orientation: the Fuchslochwelle in Nuremberg cost around 3 million euros, half of which was borne by the Free State of Bavaria; in Wolfratshausen, planning in 2017 was based on around 360,000 euros, of which 200,000 euros were EU funding. For Winterbach the sum depends on the variant. Several cost-intensive elements – the structure, reinforced banks, access – already exist; by how much this reduces the total cost, the planning has to show. What the funding could look like we will clarify as soon as feasibility is established. One possible route is the Tourism Infrastructure Programme (TIP) of the state of Baden-Württemberg, which funds public leisure infrastructure with up to 30 per cent – the applicant would be the municipality. → What a river wave costs

Why should public money go into surfing?

Today it is not yet about spending public money on building a wave, but about investigating reliably what would be technically, ecologically and economically possible. There are good reasons for that.

Standing waves have by now become sports infrastructure in their own right for recreational, youth and competitive sport. Rapid Surfing has had German Championships of the German Surfing Federation (DWV) since 2019, today with junior categories, and since 2026 a national squad and a European Championship; in 2026 the championships at the Leinewelle in Hanover were part of "Die Finals", broadcast on ZDF and Sportschau. In the Stuttgart region there is not a single training venue for it. Canoe slalom courses, ski jumps and sports halls are built on the same grounds. For context: surfing in the sea has been Olympic (since 2021) – for that, training in the sea remains indispensable. Standing waves are the sports venues that inland regions can have for this sport: for technique, young talent and the separate competitive discipline of Rapid Surfing. A wave in Winterbach would not be a training centre, but a sports venue for recreational sport, young talent and competitions at state level. For competitions, a built wave has an advantage that the federation itself highlights: it offers all competitors exactly the same conditions – no waiting for the right set as in the sea, no chance factor like the wind in ski jumping. With an adjustable installation, the wave could be kept the same over an entire competition round within the surfable discharge range. → Rapid surfing

And because valuable infrastructure already exists. The Remswehr is the outlet structure of the Schorndorf/Winterbach flood retention basin, which the Rems Water Board completed in 2005 for around 14.3 million euros – financed by the municipalities of the Rems valley and the state, in other words by everyone. On almost every day of the year the basin is empty, the gates are open and the Rems flows straight through. If a public structure can sensibly be put to multiple uses without impairing its main purpose, this creates additional benefit for the public – and those who paid for it should have a say in what else it is used for. Whether this is possible here, and at what cost, is for the feasibility study to clarify. For the 2019 Garden Show, the Rems valley treated itself to sixteen landmarks, Winterbach to the monopteros "für Aussicht und Einsicht, für Träumer und Sterngucker – und für die Schönheit" ("for views and insight, for dreamers and stargazers – and for beauty"). We think: a place for movement and joy is worth a landmark too. → What a river wave costs

Is river surfing dangerous?

Flowing water is never harmless. Professionally planned river waves therefore need an obstacle-free run-out zone, safe entry and exit points, clear operating limits and binding rules – helmet, supervision, fixed surfing times. How these conditions can be created in Winterbach is part of the planning. At waves such as Nuremberg or Pforzheim, beginners learn in courses. Why the leash is the decisive safety question in a river is explained in the knowledge section. Who runs the wave and how supervision, insurance and slots are organised is explained in the knowledge section. → Leash and safety · → Operators and operation

Who is behind it?

A citizens' initiative from Winterbach – not a company, not an investor. → About us

I have a question that isn't answered here.

Write to us: info@remswelle.de. We add good questions here.