Project
News
After two years of construction, the LIFE Network Danube Plus project partners put the new fish bypass at the Altenwörth Danube power plant into operation at a small opening ceremony. At 12.5 kilometers, the new bypass is the longest of its kind in Lower Austria. Over the past two years, a total of EUR 14.5 million has been invested in barrier-free access and biodiversity in the vicinity of the Altenwörth and Greifenstein river power plants - EUR 11.5 million of which was invested in the fish migration aid alone.
Find out more about the progress of the LIFE Network Danube Plus renaturation project by VERBUND and partners. The project was officially completed at the end of 2022.
May 2023
Fish monitoring in Altenwörth
In spring, ecologists begin counting fish in the new fish migration aid in Altenwörth. Work was delayed due to temperature fluctuations and large volumes of water. Nevertheless, 22 Danube fish species have already been identified. In the coming years, 10,000 fish are to be chip-tagged for research purposes.
April 2022
Altenwörth fish migration aid opened
The largest single measure in the LIFE Network Danube Plus project has been completed. VERBUND and its project partners opened the Altenwörth fish migration aid in the presence of numerous guests. The 12.5-kilometre-long bypass makes the Danube power plant barrier-free and provides additional habitat along the Danube.
Spring 2022
Construction work completed
Construction work on the Altenwörth fish migration aid was completed in spring 2022. The Krems-Kamp channel has already been flooded. The fish migration aid itself is in trial operation and is being filled with Danube water on a trial basis. In summer, when the relaxed Covid-19 situation allows, guided tours of the construction site will be offered again. Fish trap monitoring will start in the fall.
August to October 2021
Visit to the construction site
Even before the project was completed, numerous interested parties were able to see the success of the construction work for themselves. The fish migration aid was already flooded on a trial basis in mid-2021. By the end of October, the first delicate successes of the summer could already be seen in the vegetation and the varied course of the river. Although the focus of the renaturation project was on creating a new habitat for fish and other aquatic life, the local population also benefited from improved bathing quality in the oxbow lake and additional recreational space on the Danube.
July 2021
Cycle path reopened
The most important construction work on the Altenwörth fish migration aid has largely been completed. VERBUND project manager Hannes Einfalt, together with Mayor Marion Török (Zwentendorf) and Mayor Wolfgang Benedikt (Kirchberg a. Wagram), reopened the new bridge over the oxbow lake to traffic.
Spring on the construction site
Progress on the construction site in the area of the Altenwörth fish migration aid will be clearly visible in spring 2021. The project management expects the construction work to be completed as early as next year.
March 2021
Management on site visit
In time for the first partial flooding of the Altenwörth fish migration aid, the managing directors of VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH, Karl Heinz Gruber and Michael Amerer, came to see the progress of the project for themselves. Project manager Hannes Einfalt gave a tour of the still dry parts of Lower Austria's longest fish migration aid.
August 2020
Construction site visit in summer
In August, residents from Grafenwörth and the Altenwörth district accepted the invitation to visit the fish migration aid which is currently under construction with great interest. In glorious bathing weather, the project management gave a guided tour of the otherwise inaccessible parts of the large construction site. Questions and concerns could be raised on the spot in direct contact. The enormous dimensions of the new channel and the moving masses of gravel and sediment improved the neighbors' understanding of the necessary barriers.
Construction work at the Altenwörth fish migration aid (german only)
March 2020
Start of construction of the Altenwörth fish migration aid
With a length of more than 12.5 kilometers, the planned fish migration aid will be Lower Austria's longest fish migration aid. It connects renaturation projects on the Danube and its tributaries and thus strengthens the Danube's biodiversity. A total of 575,000 cubic meters of gravel and fine sediment will be moved during the work.
In addition to the fish migration aid, VERBUND, as the power plant operator, is working with the market town of Kirchberg am Wagram to improve the bathing quality of the Altenwörth oxbow lake.
October 2018
First information for residents on the Altenwörth fish migration aid
VERBUND officially presented the fish migration aid and oxbow lake project for the first time at a public event in the municipality of Kirchberg am Wagram on October 4, 2018. "It was important to us to inform our local residents about the project first-hand," says project manager Hannes Einfalt.
