Drau Commission Advises on Future Flood-Management Measures

The analysis of the river Drau flooding from 2012 and the subsequent measures for the future were what formed the focal point of the meeting of the Drau Commission. For two days, representatives of the Slovenian and Austrian ministries, authorities and electricity providers met up in Klagenfurt. A specially created "Work Group for the Drau Flooding" presented a report specifically about the flooding events of 5 November 2012 with some advice and recommendations for a future strategy to be undertaken during such extreme situations.

In the last two days the Permanent Austrian-Slovenian Commission for the Drau River (Drau Commission) held their 22^nd regular meeting in Klagenfurt. The Commission is made up of representatives from the responsible ministries, authorities and electricity providers from Slovenia and Austria. One of the significant points of this year's meeting was the current situation of the processing of the Drau river floods from 5 November 2012. A specifically implemented "Work Group for the Drau Flooding" presented its expert report on the flooding, which not only contains calculations made following the event, but also a few recommendations for the future handling of flooding.

The Austrian Ministry of Life provided information at the commission made up of the two countries, regarding the measures which have up until now been met to improve flood management. Based on experiences taken from the flooding of 2012, a temporary enlargement of the operating regulations for the VERBUND power plants on the river Drau were undertaken in spring 2013.

According to the detailed calculations and evaluations of the events, VERBUND, with the cooperation of all the experts, submitted a concrete catalogue of suggestions for a durable customization of operating regulations to the Water Authorities at the end of October 2013. The catalogue already contains the recommendations of the collective work group. Further detailed discussions should take place in the coming weeks between experts in both countries after incorporating all comments, in order to attain conclusive approval by the end of June 2014.

During the meeting of the Drau Commission it was further proposed that access to the power plant water level data, which has already been made available by VERBUND and the state of Carinthia, also be extended in appropriate form to the responsible committees in Slovenia.

All data and documents on the Drau flooding 2012 can be accessed at www.verbund.com/drauhochwasser2012