Gewässerschutz#
Water, Protection of Bodies of: On the basis of the 1934 Water Act (as amended in 1959, 1990), all activities that may affect surface and subsoil waters in a significant way are subject to approval by the Water Authorities. Since the 1990 amendment, Austrian water law has been among the strictest in the world. A further, though temporary, restriction of waste water releases introduced in 1993 in favour of municipal effluents has closed another important gap. Enforcement of the water law is incumbent on the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management as the supreme water authority, the executive offices of provincial governments and the district administrations, which are also in charge of the Water Register. P>
In view of the enormous amounts of money required for the protection
of waters, the Law on the Promotion of Water Engineering Projects of
1948, which established a special fund financed by the federal and
provincial authorities, provided an important basis for successfully
cleaning up Austrian lakes. A further step was taken in 1993, when a
uniform Law on the Promotion of Environmental Projects was passed
which focuses in particular on purification measures for municipal and
industrial effluents.
The Oesterreichische Wasser- und Abfallwirtschaftsverband (Austrian
Water and Solid Waste Management Association), based in Vienna, is the
forum and co-ordination centre for all regional authorities, companies
and associations that deal with matters concerning the beneficial use
of water.
Insufficient municipal waste water disposal schemes, and the
increasing nitrate pollution of ground water reserves by agricultural
activities remain problematic areas that will continue to be a
challenge for the future. Another particularly sensitive and
cost-intensive problem is the rehabilitation of old and
environmentally hazardous refuse dumps and contaminated industrial
locations.
Literature#
B. Raschauer, Wasserrechtsgesetz, Kommentar, 1993.