Following the floods in September, flood protection measures in Lower Austria are to be accelerated. An additional total of 60 million euros will be allocated to priority projects in 2024 and 2025, announced Deputy Governor Stephan Pernkopf (ÖVP) in a statement on Friday. This year, the funds will primarily be used for the “urgent renovation of old dams.” In 2025, “important expansion projects” are to be implemented more quickly.
“The analysis already shows that countless flood protection structures prevented even greater damage,” said Pernkopf. Therefore, the expansion will continue “quickly and in a targeted manner.” According to Pernkopf, the supplementary budget adopted on Thursday in the state parliament provides for an additional 11 million euros for this year and 12 million euros for 2025. These funds will enable and trigger approximately 30 million euros in additional investments in flood protection each year. Currently, around 80 million euros are spent annually on such projects, with approximately 50 projects under construction each year. “With the additional funds, we can accelerate expansion and prioritize key projects,” emphasized the deputy governor.
The focus of dam renovations is along the rivers Traisen, Perschling, Pielach, Schwarza, and Schwechat, as well as along the Kamp River and in the Krems region, as well as regionally in the Vienna Woods area and parts of the Weinviertel and Mostviertel regions. In 2025, expansion projects—depending on the progress of detailed planning and procurement processes—are to be realized more quickly. These include the dam renovation of the lower course of the Perschling River, measures in the municipalities of Ladendorf and Paasdorf (both in the Mistelbach district), dam renovations in Michelhausen (Tulln district), work on the Kamp River in the municipalities of Grafenegg, Gedersdorf, Hadersdorf, Rohrendorf (all in the Krems district), and Grafenwörth (Tulln district), as well as smaller dam reinforcements in places such as Rabenstein an der Pielach and Langmannersdorf (both in the St. Pölten district) and Plankenberg (Tulln district).
