After record floods

Vienna is already preparing for the next flood

Spectacular pictures: Six mowing boats remove tons of driftwood and garbage from the collecting basins in Auhof.(Bild: Stadt Wien/Christian Fürthner)

After the floods, the clean-up work is continuing at full speed - the city is now preparing for further floods 

The catch basins of the Vienna River in Auhof, in the far west of the city, were full to the brim. It was just about enough. Normally, the Wien River carries 200 to 500 liters per second; on 15 September 2024, the value rose to 440,000 liters per second. After the 1000-year record flood, the large-scale clean-up work continues. Tons of wood were washed up from the Wienerwald streams that flow into the Vienna River. The wood was collected in the basins in Auhof to prevent blockages in the urban area. The city's mowing boats are now in operation there, having been transferred from the Old Danube.

MA-45 boss Gerald Loew and city councillor Ulli Sima (SPÖ) at the site inspection.(Bild: Stadt Wien/Christian Fürthner)

Transport Councillor Ulli Sima (SPÖ) and MA-45 boss Gerald Loew took a look at the situation during a site inspection in Penzing on Monday morning. Sima made it clear that the city is already preparing for the next flood. "We are looking at what can be improved and searching for further protection options. These could be new catch basins or possibly digging the existing ones deeper," the city councillor told the "Krone".

At normal water levels, the Wien River flows through the retention basins. Only the Mauerbach flows through the bypass channel.(Bild: Stadt Wien/Christian Fürthner)

The flood basins, also referred to as "retention basins", are located on a 37-hectare area between the Lainzer Tiergarten and the Westbahn railway line directly at the confluence of the Mauerbach and the Wien River. In the event of flooding, excess water is "temporarily dammed" in the basins to prevent overflowing over the banks of the Wien River in Vienna's urban area. In total, the basins have a capacity of over 1 million cubic meters. Vienna is also prepared for large volumes of water thanks to the Danube Island and the New Danube. With a length of 21 kilometers and a width of around 210 meters, the Danube Island is "a huge protective structure" that flanks the New Danube as a relief channel for the Danube flow, according to MA45 (Wiener Gewässer).

Wiental cycle path still closed
The Wiental cycle path has now been cleared of the mud residue. However, as dredging and repair work is still being carried out, it will remain closed until the end of this week.