Flussbad Berlin (Project)  Flussbad Berlin is a project that aims to transform the Spree Canal in the downtown Berlin district of Mitte. The idea is to filter the water entering the canal in an ecological manner and have it flow into a "Flussbad" or river pool further downstream. The project was conceived by a group of architects and artists known as "realities:united", and it began receiving support from Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment as part of their "National Urban Development Projects" programme and Berlin's Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment in 2014. Since 2012, the non-profit association known as "Flussbad Berlin”, manages the project and fosters its realization. The Flussbad Berlin endeavour has enjoyed increasing popularity and publicity over the past several years and continues to be part of an open discussion involving growing media coverage and ever-broadening public participation. The 1.8-kilometer Spree Canal branches off the main Spree River at the Fischerinsel (Fisher Island) and heads southwest. It curves back to head northwest shortly before the Gertrauden Bridge, and then re-enters the main Spree River at the Bode Museum. The Spree Canal wraps around one side of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Museum Island, while the main Spree River wraps around the other side. One of the last historical uses of the Spree Canal was as a river pool not far from the Berlin City Palace; however, that bathing area was closed in 1925 for hygienic reasons. Since then, open access to the water at any point along the Spree Canal has been prohibited. Today, as part of the Spree River water system, the Spree Canal functions as the endpoint of a number of different wastewater discharges. The most severe pollution occurs when Berlin's combined sewage system overflows, which happens roughly 20 to 30 times per year during periods of heavy rain. When this occurs, the amount of water that flows into the overall system exceeds the capacity of Berlin's sewer pipes; as a result, the contents of the sewer system – which includes all forms of faecal matter, rinsing residues and sanitary products from Berlin households – are pumped untreated into the river. It takes many days for the river to recover from this massive contamination. And yet, without these regular overflows of the sewer system, the Spree River would most likely be clean enough to swim in. One case in point: as it makes its way towards downtown Berlin, the Spree River runs through the Müggelsee, a lake located near the city but just before the sewage overflow sites and whose water quality is generally high.