ABSTRACT
The Elbe River basin covers different geographical regions from middle mountain ranges in the west and south to large flatlands and lowlands in the central, north and eastern part of the basin. From its 1394m high origin in the Czech Bohemian mountains to its mouth in the German City of Cuxhaven at the North Sea, the Elbe River has a length of 1165km (700km in Germany) and a drainage basin of 148,268 sq km (two-thirds in Germany) (BfG, 2002, p1). The Elbe region is the driest of the five largest German river basins, resulting in frequent water stress and water deficiencies. The summer of 2003 brought a severe drought and water deficit only one year after the great floods.
