Both rivers – Url and Ybbs – have been straightened out in recent decades by regulatory activities and the banks of the rivers are heavily blocked. As a result many valuable habitats for animals and plants have been lost.
For this reason, the Ybbs and Url should be revitalisized in sections – RIOCOM takes over the planning. The municipality of Amstetten plays an Austria-wide pioneering role in the protection of our rivers.

Everywhere where the Ybbs receives space for development, the river has valuable water structures such as sediment banks, pools and deadwood in the water body.
The two planning sections “Stiefelmühle” and “Meerwiese” are to be made dynamic through initial measures, so that high-quality river landscapes can also be formed here.

Like the Ybbs, the Url has very beautiful river sections, but there are hardly any natural water structures in the straightened river areas – sedimentary banks and pools have disappeared.
Therefore, in “Winkling” and “Höf” a river renaturation with wide meanders, backwaters and steep banks is to be implemented. The resulting river landscape invites you to relax and linger. Habitat for rare animal and plant species – such as kingfisher and huchen – arises again and is secured.

RIOCOM implemented the water law and forest law submission planning and supported the nature protection submission planning.
In a first step, the existing situation was surveyed and the river morphological water body type was displayed. Following a modeling of the current state of the project sections, the measures were planned in detail in close coordination with ecology and clients. Because of the intensive exchange with the relevant authorities and the parallel simulation-work, RIOCOM adapted the measures to become optimally effective.

Competence Area

River restoration

Services

River restoration, river revitalisation, meander connection, river widening, ecological water engineering, passability of water bodies

Contracting Purchaser

Municipality of Amstetten

In collaboration with

Blattfisch e.U. – Clemens Gumpinger
MMag. Heidemarie Moser-Sturm – biologist
DI Reinhard Kraus – Landscapearchitect
Geometer Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Ferdinand Schlögelhofer

Location

Lower Austria – Amstetten at the rivers Ybbs and Url

Period

August 2017 until December 2018