As of: March 15, 2024, 11:15 a.m
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Drainage as a solution to flooding: In November, the community and conservationists installed the first pipes on beaver dams in the Aubachtal.
The community has high hopes for the system.
© Andrea Jaksch
Farmers and beavers in Seefeld are in a race: if the farmers clear out a dam, the beaver rebuilds it overnight.
The farmers feel abandoned by the community.
Seefeld
- The conflict of interest between beavers and farmers was obvious at an environmental committee meeting on Tuesday in Seefeld: On the one hand, the beavers, whose dams in the Aubach water the adjacent meadows and restore the moor.
And on the other hand, farmers whose cultivated land is flooded.
At the meeting, affected farmers followed the discussion about the beaver dams and possible measures, some of them grumbling.
The beaver is a hard-working builder.
Mayor Klaus Kögel estimated in his report that he built at least seven dams, three castles and two side castles in the Aubach.
Because beavers are protected, they cannot be shot or relocated without permission (we reported).
The approval of the Lower Nature Conservation Authority is also required to remove the dams - and this is subject to strict conditions.
In order to cope with the flooding, the administration installed a 30 centimeter thick drainage system with mesh protection directly in the beaver burrow in the area of the state road from Hechendorf to Seefeld.
With manageable success, Kögel admitted when questioned by Ulrich Pirzer (FWG).
“The beaver then increased its burrow,” said Julia Rogorsch, who is responsible for environmental issues in the community.
Ortwin Gentz (BI/Greens) contradicted: “That’s because the Aubach is currently carrying an unusually large amount of water.” Kögel explained to the Starnberger Merkur: “The pipes are installed in such a way that they are partly under water and partly above water.” Due to the increased water level, they are no longer effective.
“We will lay a second drainage around Easter,” he emphasized.
This is a construction developed by the building yard, which can be adjusted in height depending on requirements.
Beavers build up what farmers eliminate
A dam was removed by unknown persons, said Kögel.
The removal of the structure near the sports field in Oberalting has been approved.
In the past, the affected farmers have taken over this in return for a contribution from the community - in direct competition with the beaver, reported the Meilinger farmer Michael Ludwig senior when asked.
“We removed the dam every day for three weeks,” he said.
Only to discover the next morning that the beaver had rebuilt its structure overnight.
“Sisyphus,” Kögel commented on the process and, when asked, wondered aloud whether functioning drainage pipes would not be better served.
"Time will tell."
The farmers feel abandoned by the community.
“The flooding of the fields is also due to the daywater canal in Meiling, which leads rainwater into the Aubach,” explained Ludwig.
The soil sealing of the commercial area on Jahnstrasse also contributes to the Aubach overflowing its banks.
When asked about these points, Kögel admitted that there was a problem.
“We are in discussions with the water management office to find a solution.” An engineering office is determining the current situation.
“The amount of precipitation has also changed due to the climate,” he emphasized.
Retention basins or throttling of the discharge are conceivable.
“This will be particularly relevant once we designate new commercial areas,” he added.
“But we bear the follow-up costs,” complained Ludwig.
Because the outlet of the approved drainage in the fields ended in a ditch filled with water.
“A backlog forms, the pipes become silted up and need to be restored.”
Kögel hoped for functioning drainage systems in the beaver dams.
Ludwig refused to sell land to the government, as Agnes Wagner from the Upper Bavaria government suggested in her report on the FFH management plan: “The land has been in the family for 100 years, and we want to pass it on to the next generation.” (mk)