Project content

The foaming of the River Rába caused a serious problem in the area of Szentgotthárd around the millennium. To eliminate this, projects and measures have been implemented at Austrian and Hungarian territories (Rába Action Program, OPENWEHR). Since measures impact the whole catchment area of the River Rába, jointly implemented survey is necessary. The following goals have been set for the project: with jointly implemented monitoring it will be evaluated, how the realized investments affect the condition of the Rába on its entire length, on the other hand it examines the surface water bodies’ compliance to the good state specified in the river basin management plans approved in Austria and Hungary, furthermore it makes proposals in regards of further possible measures to reach and maintain the good state. The main result of the project partly is identifying the present pollution load and ecological state of the River Rába, both on the Hungarian and Austrian site, on the other hand it evaluates the effects of the measures taken so far, which could serve as a basis for bilateral measures. The project primarily supports the working of organisations operating according to the water convention between the two countries, and the working of water authorities, as well as serving valuable information for the population living across the Rába, making chemical and ecological water conditions of their environment visible for them.