The Helme watershed together with the Kleine Helme has a catchment of approximately 1,364 km2, whereby the watershed determination was recorded using the following topographical data: QGIS 3.4 with OSM Topo Map in the date WGS84, pseudo mercator. Wikipedia only mentions 1318.1 km2 for the Helme watershed. It is located in central Germany between the southern slopes of Harz and northern slopes of the Kyffhäuser hills on the lowlands of the Goldene Aue. The main flow is from west-north-west to east-south-east, the northernmost section is part of the Unstrut watershed, which in turn is part of the Saale and this in turn is part of the Elbe watershed. The catchment of the Helme encompasses the entire southern Harz region in the north and the Goldene Aue in the middle; while the southern part is fed from a number of smaller hill ranges: in the southwest there are the northern slopes of the hill region south of the towns of Epschenrode - Trebra - Bliedungen - Fronderode, a little further east are the north and east slopes of the Butterberg southwest of Großwerther. The central south of the watershed is formed by the north slope of the Windleite, the Numburg and Kyffhäuser hills. The south-south-east encompasses the north and east slopes of the Hutberg and Weinberg near Artern. The western limit of the Helme catchment area forms the main Elbe-Weser watershed: in the Harz between the Stöberhai mountain and the village of Osterhagen, then through the village of Osterhagen, the Mackenröde Forest and eastern crests of the Silkerode hill country west of Limlingerode, Stöckey and Epschenrode. The far east of the Helme catchment area is formed by the southwest slope of the Hornburg Saddle and heights northeast of the village of Bornstedt and Sittichenbach and the north and west slopes of the Ziegelroda Forest. The villages of Osterhagen and Blankenheim lie directly on the watershed. The easternmost point is between Rothenschirmbach and Hornburg, both south of Eisleben. The most important towns are the two county towns of Nordhausen and Sangerhausen, the former county town of Artern, the small towns of Bad Sachsa, Ellrich, Heringen/Helme, Kelbra, Stolberg and Allstedt, greater villages like Steina, Walkenried, Ilfeld, Neustadt/Harz, Uthleben, Auleben, Rottleberode, Rossla, Tilleda, Wallhausen and Kalbsrieth, and numerous smaller villages. Actually is divided and same time forms the outskirt of the German federal States of Niedersachsen, Thüringen, and Sachsen-Anhalt. Most of the local population speak the northern Thuringian dialect.
Current issues with the Helme watershed
Political fragmentation of 3 states, any of them are managing their own natural resources, which means Impossibility of an sound multidisciplinary integrated Watershed management and so an harmonious regional development; that means powerful soil erosion and accelerate degradation of once fertile agricultural land, silting and contamination of very important lakes and multiuse dams, shortening their live span, Brain-drain, emigration of well educated creative young people, because of high unemployment levels, because is outskirt of places where decisions are made, because of the creation of artificial superfluous borders between federal states that nobody wants.
