Staff shortages and ammunition remnants delay dyke renovation
A lack of personnel, complaints from residents and the time-consuming search for remnants of war are delaying the urgently needed dyke renovations in North Rhine-Westphalia. Of the 44 planned dyke restoration projects in the federal state, only six have currently been completed, according to a report by the Ministry of the Environment for a committee meeting on Wednesday.
NRW Environment Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens) had already spoken of a "need for action" in at least half of the dyke kilometers in the state at the end of July. In total, NRW has around 530 kilometers of dykes and protective walls on the state's larger rivers.
A "dyke renovation roadmap" for NRW was drawn up in 2014 with 41 necessary renovation projects; three further projects have since been added. The six completed renovations include the expansion of dykes near Rees and Emmerich on the Lower Rhine.
According to the report, construction is currently underway on four dykes in NRW. These include the dyke renovation in Uedesheim near Düsseldorf and other projects on the Lower Rhine. Planning is still underway for renovations in Düsseldorf, Monheim and a backwater dyke on the Itter.
The report shows that planning is ongoing for 20 measures and that no application documents have yet been submitted. Seven other locations in the federal state are currently being checked to see whether they can be included in the "Dyke renovation roadmap".
The dyke renovations are financed from budget funds or from the funds of the joint task "Improvement of the agricultural structure and coastal protection". Under this funding, 60 percent is financed by the federal government and 40 percent by the state.
Amidst these challenges, it's crucial to integrate an environmental policy that prioritizes dyke restoration and maintenance into the state's budget and decision-making processes. Regrettably, without adequate environmental policy provisions, the current pace of dyke renovations may not sufficiently address the long-term vulnerability of North Rhine-Westphalia's dyke infrastructure.
Source: www.dpa.com
