Flood protection

Starting signal for the Rhesi project of the century

Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig and Swiss Federal Councillor Albert Rösti at the signing of the state treaty.

(Bild: Landtag Vorarlberg)

Water Management Minister Norbert Totschnig and Swiss Federal Councillor Nobert Rösti signed the fourth state treaty on flood protection along the Rhine. 

After thousands of hours of work and years of negotiations, the political representatives of Austria and Switzerland signed the treaty on Friday, which will not only improve flood protection along the Alpine Rhine. "With the signing of the fourth state treaty, Austria and Switzerland are continuing their 130 years of cooperation to protect the people, their homes, apartments and businesses in the Rhine Valley," said Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig, Minister for Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management.

Renaturation project is the largest in Europe
At the signing ceremony, which took place at the national border on the Wiesenrhein bridge in Lustenau, Totschnig emphasized that Rhesi is the largest flood protection project in Austria and the largest renaturation project in Europe. Rhesi combines the protection of the population, a safe drinking water supply and a new habitat for animals and plants. Climate change is increasingly demonstrating just how necessary the implementation of Rhesi is. "A 300-year flood in the Rhine Valley would endanger 300,000 people and cause up to 13 billion euros in damage. To prevent this, we are investing around 820 million euros as a federal government," emphasized Totschnig.

With the signing of the fourth state treaty, we are making cross-border history. This means that an important hurdle on the way to implementing Rhesi has been overcome.

Landeshauptmann Markus Wallner

Bild: Mathis Fotografie

Switzerland and Austria will each bear half of the total costs of over 2 billion euros. Vorarlberg will contribute 25 percent of the costs incurred by the Alpine republic. In this regard, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner and Governor Markus Wallner signed a further agreement on financing on Friday.

From canal to natural waters:

(Bild: KAPO ZH FLUGBETRIEB, IRR/Hydra)

The project of the century will not only bring about change at the mouth of the Frutz.

(Bild: KAPO ZH FLUGBETRIEB, IRR/Hydra)

Implementation creates a new landscape
In terms of content, the state treaty signed on Friday includes measures to reduce flood risks in the Rhine Valley between the mouth of the Ill and Lake Constance. Around 26 kilometers of flood protection structures will be renewed or renovated and the discharge capacity increased. At the same time, the Rhine is being restored to its natural state. The river will be given significantly more space and widened to around 150 to 200 meters. The change from a canal-like river to a natural body of water will result in a completely new landscape at all points.

State treaties

The representatives of Austria and Switzerland signed a total of four international treaties on flood protection on the Rhine. The first treaty (then still between Austria-Hungary and Switzerland) was signed in 1892. The others followed in 1924, 1954 and 2024.

However, there will still be a lot of water flowing down the Rhine before this is visible. Construction can only begin once all the procedures have been completed. This is likely to be the case in 2027 at the earliest. Construction will then take around 20 years. Rhesi is therefore not expected to be completed until the end of the 2040s.