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The valley is dominated by the river Selke with its source in the Lower Harz and a tributary of the river Bode falling over an overall height of 340 m. The river is 64 km in length of which 30 km flow through the mountains of the Harz and the last 34 km through the agricultural land of the Harz approaches. The river itself was often the cause of sudden floods with water bursting its banks, and as a result a number of dams were planned along its route. The most recent project is a storm water embankment near Meisdorf planned to be 12 to 18 m high. A local protest movement has claimed that the embankment would ruin the landscape, and further arguments have been raised by inhabitants in villages up stream that not enough flood protection is available and so plans are in progress for dams at Straßbeg to protect the current storm water dam at Uhlenbach.