Jengen / Günztal - flood protection is a crucial future task for the municipalities.
This was emphasized by Bavaria's Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber last Wednesday at the inauguration of two retention basins for various flood protection measures in Eurishofen (Ostallgäu / Jengen) and Ottobeuren in Günztal (Unterallgäu).
“Climate change is palpable. We have to be aware that heavy rain events are becoming more and more common. We have to prepare for this on site. A small and calm brook can turn into a torrent in no time. We saw that this summer to a catastrophic extent. Bavaria should become climate-safe. We need the best possible protection for our citizens. To this end, we are constantly expanding flood protection and are firmly on the side of the municipalities, ”emphasized Glauber in his address. As a result of the two flood protection projects in the East and Lower Allgäu, measures to retain water in the area are being implemented, according to Bavaria's Environment Minister.
The Eurishofen flood retention basin in the Jengen municipality forms the end of a total of ten basins of the Gennach-Hühnerbach association. Eleven municipalities joined forces in 2007 to form the association and, with the financial participation of the Free State of Bavaria, implemented comprehensive flood protection from retention basins as well as water development and renaturation measures along the Gennach and Hühnerbach rivers. Glauber: “The Gennach-Hühnerbach association implemented a showcase project in record time. The ten retention basins and other measures on site are decentralized flood protection in its purest form. They protect the citizens along the Gennach and Hühnerbach from a hundred-year flood. ”A climate surcharge was also taken into account.said Glauber at the inauguration ceremony of the Eurishofen retention basin.
The total costs of the construction measures are around 30 million euros and, in the event of a flood, offer a retention volume of around 1.7 million cubic meters of water.
The Free State and the EU support the flood protection measures with up to 75 percent.
Flood protection is also being promoted by the Free State in the Günztal.
With the Eldern flood retention basin, the first of a total of five retention basins has been completed.
At the inauguration of the retention basin in Ottobeuren, Glauber emphasized: “The Eldern flood retention basin is the core of the supraregional flood protection project along the Günz.
The comprehensive protective equipment means a significant increase in safety for the people on site.
They offer protection against a 100-year flood event including a climate surcharge. "
The Günz, including its tributaries, forms the longest stream system in Bavaria. The potential for damage in the event of a 100-year flood is countered with a total of five retention basins in Eldern near Ottobeuren, Westerheim, Engetried, Sontheim and Frechenrieden with a total retention volume of over eight million cubic meters and other measures. Around 800 meters of dams with a height of up to eleven meters were built for the first flood retention basin in Ottobeuren. Around 1.6 million cubic meters of flood runoff can thus be temporarily stored. The total volume of the flood protection measures in the Günztal is around 75 million euros.The communities benefiting from the measure have come together to form a flood protection association and will be responsible for maintaining the facilities for the next 100 years after their completion.
Flood protection in Bavaria is to be expanded vigorously in the future: a total of two billion euros is to be invested in the current water action program by the end of 2030.
Another 150,000 people in Bavaria are to be specifically protected from a flood of the century.
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