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🇦🇹 Austria /Environment & Climate

Drought: Condition of the Lower Lobau is 'extremely bad,' WWF warns

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Lower Lobau nature reserve in Vienna is in "extremely bad" condition due to prolonged drought and heatwaves.
  • The WWF is urging authorities to divert Danube water into the area and re-register it in the water restoration atlas.
  • The city of Vienna is awaiting results from a groundwater flow model before deciding on further measures, citing concerns about potential contamination of drinking water sources.

The Lower Lobau, a vital nature reserve in Vienna, is suffering severe ecological damage due to persistent drought and heatwaves, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Michael Stelzhammer of the WWF described the area's condition as "extremely bad" during a site visit in August. He highlighted the critical lack of water, which threatens the habitats of species that rely on the Lobau as their last refuge. Stelzhammer reiterated the WWF's demands for artificial water diversion from the Danube into the Lower Lobau, emphasizing the urgent need for action.

If I have such conditions in the Lobau, which makes up a quarter of the Danube-Auen National Park, then I am endangering the habitats of species that have their last refuge here.

— Michael StelzhammerExplaining the severe impact of drought on the Lobau's ecosystem and its inhabitants.

The reserve, which constitutes a quarter of the Donau-Auen National Park, is naturally sustained by the interplay of high and low water levels. However, since the Danube's regulation began in 1870 for flood protection, this dynamic has been lost. The Lower Lobau has become largely cut off from the Danube, leading to progressive silting and drying out.

The lack of water is a death blow, which does not happen quickly, but drags on for decades.

— Michael StelzhammerDescribing the long-term consequences of water scarcity on the Lobau.

While artificial water diversion, known as "Dotation," is already being implemented in the Upper Lobau to combat drying, Vienna is proceeding cautiously with similar measures for the Lower Lobau. Andreas Januskovecz from the city's climate affairs department stated that technical assessments are underway, primarily due to concerns that diverting Danube water could contaminate local drinking water wells.

To address these concerns, experts have been developing a groundwater flow model since last year. This model aims to clarify how water diversion would affect the Lower Lobau's water balance and determine the necessary water volumes to preserve the area's natural biodiversity. Initial results are expected by the end of the year, after which decisions on potential water management trials can be made. Additionally, the Staudigl weir is slated for renovation over the winter to regulate water flow from the Upper to the Lower Lobau without depleting the former.

As an absolute acute measure - and that is literally just a drop in the ocean.

— Michael StelzhammerCharacterizing the proposed diversion of water from the Upper to the Lower Lobau as a temporary, insufficient solution.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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