[i]Although there was a hotfix released recently (~mid September 2023) specifically adressing the bug in the science station (the "colorful" button to handle the valves) in this version (according to discord), it didn't fix the bug in my game.
(no, I didn't want to create an account on discord and verify my phone number for this)[/i]
EDIT:
nevermind! It just never occured to me to try and cross the (frozen!) waterway in the lower-left corner.