Protective wall broken – How a snail delayed the dam renovation

“Nature protection ends exactly where the protection of the population begins,” emphasizes State Vice President Stephan Pernkopf. And there is no more room for the renovation of the dam on the Perschling in Tullnerfeld that broke through on Monday. According to an official decision, the protective wall is now being put into shape after it was temporarily sealed by Blackhawks with big bags.

However, this should have happened a long time ago; the project has been under discussion for years because an endangered inland snail lives in the tributary of the Danube. This autumn, the authorities finally gave the green light for the construction work. For the residents of Rust and seven other places that were known to have to be evacuated, this obviously comes too late.

Army builds 250-meter-long “road”
Since Thursday, so-called sheet piles have been driven deep into the ground over a length of about 200 meters by official order. The federal army had to build a 250-meter-long folding road where the construction machines could arrive. The new dam is now being structurally implemented in collaboration between the fire brigade, the military on duty and specialized companies.

“Only then can the gap in the existing dam be drained, filled and stabilised over its entire length,” the state representative explains. And fire chief Dietmar Fahrafellner adds: “The dams on the Leitha were protected and secured by enormous efforts; 10,000 sandbags were laid and 400 tonnes of fill material were spread.”