Vienna water supply: New hope for the Lower Lobau!

Vienna water supply: New hope for the Lower Lobau!

Lobau in Vienna is facing a special challenge. In order to counteract the threat of drying out and silting up, the local council committee has decided to develop a new groundwater flow model for the Lower Lobau. This model is intended to serve as a basis for future measures and help to preserve the valuable nature in this popular recreational area. According to a statement from My district Since last year, additional water has been flowing from the New Danube into the Upper Lobau in order to improve the water balance.

But what does that mean specifically? Up to 1,500 liters of water per second can be supplied. Climate City Councilor Jürgen Czernohorszky emphasizes how important it is to protect drinking water supplies in this context. A project from 2015 showed that all tested doping variants posed a risk to the water supply. However, the hydrological and hydrogeological conditions have changed since then and this is what the new model represents.

Funding and support

270,000 euros were budgeted for the groundwater flow model in the budget for 2025/2026. These investments were decided on by the local council committee for climate, environment, democracy and human resources. It remains to be seen how the model can optimize the water balance of the Lower Lobau and whether it can still be possible to forward dotation water without risking the drinking water supply.

The Donauauen National Park, in which the Lobau is located, is not only experiencing these changes. Like the organization viadonau reported, several measures have already been taken to stabilize the water level and improve the habitat in the floodplains. For example, expanded bedload management is being carried out to stop the deepening of the Danube bed, which has fallen by half a meter since 1985.

Long-term solutions

In addition, work is being done on connecting tributaries to the main stream, which not only benefits the river dynamics, but also improves the habitat for the flora and fauna in the Lobau. Positive numbers of young fish on newly created natural banks are already showing the first successes of these measures. The exchange between the Donau-Auen National Park, viadonau and the Supreme Water Rights Authority is maintained on an ongoing basis in order to advance continuous water networks.

Projects like the “Dynamic Life Lines Danube”, which run until June 2026, make a further contribution to sustainable river design. The completion of certain connection measures, such as the Spittelau Arm, took place in autumn 2020. Further technical planning is planned for 2025, which represents a decisive step in the revitalization of the floodplains.

The developments in the Lobau are not only important for nature. It is also important for the Viennese who use this wonderful recreational area that a balance is found between nature conservation and drinking water supply. The coming years will show how the measures in the form of the groundwater flow model and other projects will work.