European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 30, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday. August 30. 1989 the stars and stripes Page 9 Over Here Sis Jonn Minai rocks in a ditch left keep Larnior churned mud Center from ending up in Ell at right Engineer Lothar Rueckert inspects a Bride built to help a e area Mike. Pounding rain and pounding Armor spell trouble by John  Bureau Schweinfurt West Germany rain is normally a Blessing in Farmland like the rolling Meadows near Schweinfurt. It turns the land Green nourishing the crops that Are the Farmer s livelihood. But not on area Mike. The rain thai Falls on this army training area has turned into a source of concern to two National governments and the citizens of a Small town called Zell. Area Mike is located in the Hills above Zell about five Miles North of the army s Ludward Barracks in Schweinfurt. Part of the area is covered by Lush Green Forest part by patches of Brownish grass and weeds and wildflowers. For the residents of Zell their troubles with area Mike involve the Barren area of 494 acres the soil on it and the . Army armoured vehicles that Pound it. For the last 10 years the result of this dirty combination has been massive erosion on area Mike and cascades of Muddy water that gush into the town s streets and basements from the training area which is about a mile away. The roots of the problem go Back to 1930, according to Wolfgang fr6hling, a civil Engineer Tor Schweinfurt s directorate of engineering and housing. Before then the land that is now known As area Mike was covered with Trees and natural vegetation. Any rain that fell on the land was slowed by Trees and plants and soaked into the vegetation he said. That started to change nearly 60 years ago however. Before the second world War the German army created a training area and Cut the Wood Down fro Ling said. Soon third Reich troops and vehicles including tanks were mane vering Over the cleared area. After the War the . Army followed in the germans tracks and continued to use the area formate users involving armoured vehicles. Over the years he said the tanks became heavier an heavier. And the existing Woods became smaller and smaller and the cleared area became bigger and  with the cover being stripped away the area s natural weakness became exposed soft Sand and Clay that makes up the Earth in the area. It s a soil. That likes  fro Ling said. Heavy armoured vehicles rolling Over the soft Sand and Clay compound the problem by chewing up the soil on the surface while compressing the Earth below. Both effects of the training work to the water s advantage. Heavy Rains won t soak into the tank compacted Earth so they take the easiest path Down the tank tracks and into a Valley located in the Middle of area Mike. From the Valley the Muddy Rainwater eventually ends up hooding most pans of Zell. But Zell in t the Only place suffering from the storms that Shower the Region. About 10 years ago we noticed erosion was present in the training area As Well said Lotha Rueckert. An environmental Engineer for the army s directorate of engineering and housing in Schweinfurt. And the erosion increases More and More and quicker and  Rueckert said the water running off the Hills of the training area eventually carved a 1.2-mile Long tank eating ditch in the Valley. In some areas the ditch was 20 feet wide and 10 to 13 feel deep. In 1987, the ditch proved to be too much for an m-1 Abrams tank. The 63-ton tank turned Over in the ditch spilling 150 to 200 Gallons of diesel fuel he said. Coincidentally 1987 was the same year the Schweinfurt military Community began a seven phase plan to control he problem. Fro Ling said the Community began to study the problem when the accelerating erosion was first noticed. Their study was fuelled by the concerns of the citizens of Zell and the German Forest ministry. But stopping the problem seemed about As easy As stopping the rain from falling on area Mike. It s not like a building fryhling  knows How to construct a  but with erosion control the Community discovering new ground he said. The German Forest ministry suggested closing the area in order to reforest it. The German water Protection Agency proposed that a dam be built at the foot of the Valley. The dam measuring 330feet Long and 33 feet High would hold Back the water and allow it to soak into the ground the Agency said. But both solutions presented other problems. Fryhling said. The problem with ref resting is we then have no training area he said. The problem with the dam is we d need lots  since mud stopped by such a dam would have to be continually dredged and the water carefully released year round. The Only remaining option was to devise a plan that would Stop the erosion without shutting Down the training area. Working together the German Forest ministry and water Protection Agency and Schweinfurt s environmental and civil engineers came up with that plan. Generally speaking it Calls for the army to construct a system to slow and trap the water. While the German Forest ministry would help the land soak up the water. In 1987, the army began building a series of Bridges and Small dams in the giant ditch and in another ditch that was forming in the Valley. Seven Bridges were made of Concrete one with Large rocks and two More with gravel. The Bridges serve two purposes Rueckert said. First they help slow the water since Only water with Speed is water with Power to erode second they help the tankers get Over the ditch said Jim Kissinger chief of the training support division for the Schweinfurt directorate of plans. Training mobilization and Security. As the ditch was getting deeper it was getting harder to get to the other Side of the training area he said. Stones piled up at intervals of about 33 feet inthe ditch also help slow the water. Between the Bridges and Rock piles the system acts much like baffles in a Muffler to reduce and divert the flow of water. Rueckert said that when the water collects at each obstacle it s Given More time to soak into the ground. For its part the German Forest ministry will Plant Trees and shrubs on the Hills around the Valley in selected areas to help soak up the water. When the Agency is done it will have planted nearly 100,000 Square feet of the area. The work carries a Price. The army will have contributed about $  million to the project by the time it s finished in 1993, Kissinger said while the West German government will have paid about $250,000. Until then. Fro Ling said officials have but one goal we want to make this area like a