Old water mills require a special ditch system for their operation. With their help, a difference in height was created, as well as a smooth flow of water. The Obergraben branched off some distance from the planned mill site. A weir in the course of the river dammed the water and directed it into this ditch. This ran at a lower gradient than the natural course of the river in the direction of the mill. This is how the required height difference was created there. The water level in the ditch system would be regulated by various gates. An intake structure at the beginning of the Obergraben controlled the amount of water flowing in. In the further course of the Obergraben there was a relief sluice, which took the water pressure off the mill in the event of high water or a malfunction of the inlet sluice. This large building in the middle of the Reuschenberger Graben bears the name "thick wall" or popularly "Rusch". The iron railing is decorated with the year of its construction: 1840.
The kinetic energy of the water, increased by the difference in altitude, drove the two mill wheels of the Reuschenberg mill. The water returned to the course of the river through the lower ditch. On the shallow lower reaches of the rivers, these ditch systems were often very long.
The upper ditch of the Reuschenberger mill is 1.2 kilometers long, the lower ditch is another 800 meters long.
The height difference achieved at the mill is 5.2 meters.