Rhine flooding: Swiss to invest CHF1 billion with Austria
The Rhine bursting its banks in Eastern Switzerland, August 2023.
Keystone / Yanik Buerkli
As part of an international agreement with Austria, the Swiss government wants to pump CHF1 billion ($1.1 billion) into flood protection measures along the Rhine over the next three decades.
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Suíça investirá 1 bi para evitar enchentes no Reno
Because of the risk of flooding in the lower Rhine valley, Switzerland and Austria have decided to improve protection on the basis of a new treaty, the government said on Wednesday.
The project concerns the 26-kilometre stretch of border between the mouth of the Ill river and Lake Constance.
The plan is to provide better protection for the lower Rhine valley by boosting the river’s flow capacity from 3,100 m3/s to 4,300 m3/s, and by cleaning up dykes which have been worn down over time. The measures are also designed to increase safety for the 300,000 inhabitants of the valley and to ensure the region’s long-term economic development.
The measures will meanwhile provide better protection for the population concerned and help to avoid material damage of some CHF13 billion.
Implementation of the project is scheduled to last until 2052.
Bern and Vienna will share the costs equally, with Swiss authorities planning to commit CHF1 billion over 27 years. Federal authorities will pay 80% of the Swiss contribution; canton St Gallen will pay 20%. Parliament in Bern must still approve the commitment credit for Switzerland’s share.
Switzerland and Austria have previously signed three treaties on cross-border flood protection measures, the most recent in 1954.
Adapted from French by DeepL/dos
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