Investments for flood protection: Acher will be prepared for the future!

Investments for flood protection: Acher will be prepared for the future!

As part of her summer tour, Environment Minister Thekla Walker visited the Acher and found out about comprehensive flood protection measures. These investments are of great importance, since more than 50 million euros in real assets are to be protected by the project. Bernd Mettenleiter, the member of the state parliament for the Kehl constituency, use in a press release to emphasize the importance of the measures and inform the public about progress. The flood protection projects on the Acher were particularly visited in the area of ​​Severinstraße and at the Achern train station, while representatives of the state company waters explained the project goals.

With total costs of over 17 million euros, the flood protection project on the Acher is the largest outside of the integrated Rhine program in the Freiburg region. The main goals of the measures are protection against a hundred -year flood (HQ100) and the ecological upgrading of the river. Mettenleiter emphasized that investments in flood protection are worthwhile in the event of damage. As a memory, reference is made to the devastating flood in 2019, in which the dams were overloaded on the highway.

Measures and ecological aspects

The planned measures include the widening and deepening of the river bed, the upgrading and increase of the flood insulation as well as the construction of a new dike. These structural changes should not only improve the protection of settlements and infrastructure, but also enable a natural design of the bank zones and the improvement of habitats for the flora and fauna of the region. It is also ensured that the measures are carried out in accordance with the EU Water Framework Directive. The city of Achern participates in the total cost of the project with around 20 percent.

These initiatives are particularly important against the background of increasing flood risk due to climate change. Scientists have found that extreme rainfall has appeared more and more intensely worldwide since the 1950s, which is also evident in Germany. The average temperature in Germany has increased since 1881 and in 2023 the warmest year has been 10.6 degrees since the start of the recordings. These developments increase the likelihood of heavy rainfall and flood events, which is why effective flood protection measures are becoming increasingly important in order to cushion future disasters. In this context, the experiences from the devastating flood events in recent years must also be observed.

With the improvements to the Acher, not only flood protection is increased, but also aimed at long -term ecological effects. The conversion of weirs to promote fish hikes and the creation of natural bumps is promoted the biodiversity of the region. In view of the increasing number of extreme weather events, such as recently in Spain or in other European countries, the development of effective flood protection strategies is an important social concern.