Today's challenge is to combine river restoration with flood protection. Clean water in well-structured, living rivers has to be the chief goal. The foundation for revitalization of Austria's rivers has been laid.
Restoration is the challenge for future generations.
Rivers are given the space they need in order to cope with floods. This ensures that water levels do not rise too high, but spread in widthan effective protection for settlements situated down river. The more diversified a river is, the better it can filter organic contaminants and purify itself. More biodiversity Floodplains are among the most diversified habitats in the world. For example, the floodplains along the Danube east of Vienna accommodate about 5,000 animal species and more than 600 ferns and flowering plants.