2023-09-01 22:10:37
Water is to be taken from the Danube in Lower Austria on the Slovakian border – a solution with Hungary is on hold due to a lack of funding.
Burgenland is currently pushing for a solution with Lower Austria for the planned water supply to Lake Neusiedl, in which the water on the border with Slovakia is to be taken from the Danube. A supply line from the Hungarian Moson-Donau, on the other hand, is more or less on hold because Hungary lacks funding, said Christian Sailer, head of the “Task Force Neusiedler See”, on Friday.
Exactly where in Lower Austria the water is to be taken from the Danube has not yet been clarified, Sailer explained to the APA. In addition to the region around Hainburg (Bruck an der Leitha district), there are several other options. Of course, the nature reserve there must also be taken into account.
According to Sailer, the project with the neighboring country continues to stagnate. The plan would be to extend the existing diversion from the Moson-Donau. However, there is currently no financing available on the Hungarian side for this. Hungary did not respond to the offer of interim financing. In addition, the neighboring country wants to carry out further studies first, while Burgenland is striving for quick measures. “We would be in the starting blocks”, emphasized Sailer. The aim is to carry out a nature compatibility test, no matter where the water comes from in the end. But that still has to be clarified with the nature conservation authority. Then there would still be an environmental impact assessment.
According to Sailer, Lower Austria should also benefit from an inner-Austrian solution, for example by creating new perspectives for agriculture. As planned, an average of one cubic meter of water per second is to be discharged into the lake, which corresponds to approximately 33 million cubic meters per year and would raise the water level by ten to twelve centimeters. “We don’t want to inflate the lake to an optimum. We want to make sure it doesn’t dry up. We won’t be able to do more,” said Sailer. It is also assumed that wetter years will come again. Another problem is the groundwater body in the Seewinkel, which is only marginally related to the lake.
The current condition of Lake Neusiedl is satisfactory. The water level is currently 115.08 meters above the Adriatic Sea, 15 centimeters higher than in the previous year. “In principle, anything is possible,” said Patrik Hierner, Managing Director of the Northern Burgenland Tourism Association. Only boats with a large draft sometimes have problems. So far it has been a good year for the lake.
Didi Tunkel, Managing Director of Burgenland Tourism, also emphasized that Lake Neusiedl certainly has enough water, but you can tell that people are unsettled by the pictures and “horror scenarios”. There have been some cancellations. For many tourists, however, the lake is primarily important as a landscape element, for example when cycling or for culinary delights. Sailing is also possible.
may/july/jun
#Neusiedlersee #Burgenland #supply #water #Danube