The fire brigades of the Neusiedl am See district, the Eisenstadt region and Lower Austria in Parndorf have been on duty since Tuesday. The floods are still being fought.
In and around Parndorf, about 200 liters per square meter fell from the sky in recent days. In Gols, Weiden am See and Neusiedl am See, sewers and retention basins were also pushed to the limit.
In Gols, the sewage treatment plant was in danger of being unable to cope with the water masses. The problem can be intercepted with two additional pumps. “Thank God everything held up for us and the interaction of everyone involved was perfect. Nevertheless, we are looking at what measures we can still take in the area of the Golser Canal so that nothing happens,” Mayor Kilian Brandstätter said after the heavy rainfall.
ÖVP calls for additional retention basins
In Neusiedl am See, too, the water kept the weirs busy. Here the ÖVP demands an additional retention basin at the end of Weichselfelststraße and that ditches and canals are regularly maintained. Mayor Elisabeth Böhm pinpoints political games behind the accusation and notes that ditches and canals are always checked and cleaned.
Parndorf does not settle down at all. Weirs have been battling the water masses there continuously since Tuesday. Priority is given to the seepage basins and the pumping station.
“We are still trying to minimize the water level in the seepage basins and pumping stations with the help of pumping activities,” says fire chief Stefan Wallentich. “We know that flooding in basements is tragic, but first we have to try to lower the water table in some way.”
Groundwater immediately rises again
The problem: The seepage basins are pumped empty and the groundwater pushes up again from below. “We have never had the groundwater level almost at street level,” Mayor Wolfgang Kovacs also responds with shock. He describes talking to channel planners as well. Channels and pumps have always worked, only the amount of water was not so easy to manage.
About 6 years ago, a retention basin was built in Parndorf for 1.7 million euros. “A really big one, where a lot of voices have gone up that it’s over the top,” says Kovacs. Now it’s too small. “We will certainly look at everything and reconsider the canal system. But in the case of a century like this, none of that makes sense.”
Source: Krone
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