Project news
We have the latest news on the project "LIFE Network Danube Plus". Events, milestones and the latest news from the land restoration between the power plants at Altenwörth and Greifenstein on the Danube.
May 2023: Fish monitoring in Altenwörth
In the spring, ecologists begin counting the fish in the new fish pass in Altenwörth. The work starts with a delay, complicated by temperature fluctuations and large volumes of water. Nevertheless, 22 species of Danube fish have already been accounted for. In the coming years, 10,000 fish will be marked with a chip for research purposes.
To the press release Breeding protection initiative at the Altenwörth fish pass
Altenwörth fish pass ready for the start of spring
Book presentation LIFE & the Danube
Together with the completion of construction work on the fish pass at Altenwörth, VERBUND and its project partners present the book "Life & the Danube. Renaturierungsprojekte an der Donau" (Life & the Danube. Land restoration projects on the Danube). Over 240 pages, our authors vividly document the collaboration and contribution we have made, and will continue to make, with our partners – the EU, the federal government, the provinces, as well as the fishing associations and universities. A big chapter is naturally devoted to the LIFE Network Danube Plus project.
LIFE Platform pays a visit to Altenwörth
The 23rd LIFE Platform was held in Krems on 8 and 9 September 2022. During the conference, more than a dozen LIFE projects from Austria and Germany were presented, as were the new framework conditions for future LIFE projects. The Altenwörth fish pass was presented as a trend-setting real-life example on an excursion to the new accompanying bypass watercourse.
Altenwörth fish pass opened
The largest single measure in the LIFE Network Danube Plus project is finished. In the presence of numerous guests, VERBUND opened the Altenwörth fish pass together with project partners. The 12.5 kilometre-long bypass river makes the Danube power plant barrier-free and offers additional habitat along the Danube.
Altenwörth fish pass opened Start of spring at the fish pass (April 2022)
Spring 2022 - closed for construction work
The construction work around the Altenwörth fish bypass was completed in spring 2022. The Krems-Kamp channel is already flooded. The fish pass itself is undergoing trials and will be filled with Danube water on a test basis. In summer, assuming a relaxation in the Covid-19 situation, tours of the construction site will be offered again. Fish trap monitoring will start in the autumn.
26 October 2021: Hike with the Altenwörth Watersports Club
On a beautifully sunny National Day, the members of the Altenwörth Watersports Club hiked the adjacent fish pass and convinced themselves of the success of the construction measures under the expert guidance of project leader Hannes Einfalt. The fish pass is currently being flooded for test purposes; the first tender shoots of success in the summer are now sprouting vigorously and can be seen by the varied course of the river. The fish pass runs parallel to the Danube as a near-natural river and provides new habitat for fish and other aquatic lifeforms over a distance of 12 kilometres. The local population also benefits from an improvement in swimming quality in the side arm and additional recreational space by the Danube.
August 2021: "Vitale Gemeinde Zwentendorf" pays a visit
The initiative "Vitale Gemeinde Zwentendorf" made use of the glorious August weather to visit the neighbouring fish pass at the VERBUND Danube power plant in Altenwörth. Under the expert guidance of Martin Mühlbauer, a water engineer and fish ecologist, about 50 residents viewed the impressive riverscape. The 12.5 kilometre-long accompanying watercourse already forms its own river and offers more than just safe passage for fish parallel to the Danube.
Martin Mühlbauer, a water engineer and fish ecologist, explained the concept behind constructing the riverscape with diverse shallows, deeper sections, meanders, dead wood structures and other formations. The fish pass is supplemented with ecological measures in the old course, which is an extremely popular area, especially in summer.
Martin Mühlbauer, a water engineer and fish ecologist, explained the concept behind constructing the riverscape with diverse shallows, deeper sections, meanders, dead wood structures and other formations. The fish pass is supplemented with ecological measures in the old course, which is an extremely popular area, especially in summer.
July 2021: Cycle path re-opened
The main construction work on the Altenwörth fish pass is now largely completed. VERBUND project leader Hannes Einfalt together with mayor Marion Török (Zwentendorf) and mayor Wolfgang Benedikt (Kirchberg a. Wagram) were thus able to open the new bridge over the old course to traffic.
To the press release Spring 2021 on the construction site of the Altenwörth fish pass
March 2021: Management visiting construction sites
Right on time for the first partial flooding of the Altenwörth fish pass, the managing directors of VERBUND Hydro Power GmbH, Karl Heinz Gruber and Michael Amerer, were impressed by the project’s progress. Project leader Hannes Einfalt guided the visitors over the still dry parts of Lower Austria’s longest fish pass.
To the press release Winter construction site in Altenwörth (January 2021)
Altenwörth fish bypass in fall 2020
Summer construction site tour 2020
Local residents from Grafenwörth and Altenwörth took up with great interest the invitation in August to tour the fish pass being built. In magnificent bathing weather, the project management led the visitors to the normally inaccessible parts of the large construction site. Questions and concerns could be raised on the spot in direct contact with the tour guides. The enormous dimensions of the new channel and the masses of moved gravel and sediment made it easier for the project’s neighbours to understand the need for road closures.
Construction work on the Altenwörth fish bypass
March 2020: Start of construction on the Altenwörth fish pass
The planned fish pass will be Lower Austria’s longest fish pass at more than 12.5 km in length. It connects land restoration projects on the Danube and its tributaries, thereby boosting the diversity of species in the Danube. In total, the work will involve the movement of 575,000 cubic metres of gravel and fine sediment.
In addition to the fish pass, VEBUND is improving the bathing quality of the old course of the Danube at Altenwörth in cooperation with the market municipality of Kirchberg am Wagram.
To the press release In addition to the fish pass, VEBUND is improving the bathing quality of the old course of the Danube at Altenwörth in cooperation with the market municipality of Kirchberg am Wagram.
2018: Initial residents’ information on the Altenwörth fish bypass
At a citizens’ event in the municipality of Kirchberg am Wagram on 4 October 2018, VERBUND officially presented the fish bypass and old course project to interested local residents for the first time. “It was important to us to personally inform our neighbours about the project at first hand,” says project manager Hannes Einfalt.