In the central Lower Harz between the villages of Neudorf, Silberhütte, Straßberg, Großem Auerberg and the upper Lude river is the only, historical, mine water management system in the Lower Harz. Sheltered by the geographical-climatic conditions of the Lower Harz, the system never reached the scale of comparable systems in the Upper Harz and the Ore Mountains. The river catchment areas affected are primarily the source regions and upper reaches of small mountain streams. Parts of the water management system can be dated back as far as 1320. This network of ditches (Kunstgraben), trenches (Rösche) and ponds (Kunstteiche) has been called the Lower Harz Pond and Ditch System.