WWF: 77% of Austria's valuable rivers unprotected from new hydropower plants; small producers dispute the calculation

The environmental organisation WWF Austria published a river report (Flüssereport) on 3 November that compares watercourse data with the protection rules in force. Its conclusion: 77% of the rivers considered ecologically valuable are not legally protected from the construction of new hydropower plants. On the same day, the association Kleinwasserkraft Österreich, which represents small hydropower plants, rejected the findings.

The figures. WWF analysed around 32,400 kilometres of rivers, of which about 12,600 are considered particularly valuable; the protection gap totals 9,700 kilometres. In Carinthia and Vorarlberg, more than 90% of these stretches are unprotected. The report counts more than 6,600 hydropower plants and says that in 57% of residual-flow stretches the ecologically required minimum flow is not guaranteed, while 77% of weirs used for hydropower cannot be passed by fish.

What WWF wants. The organisation calls for binding protection of valuable rivers, an end to subsidies for new small hydropower plants and a Swiss-style water levy of around 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour of hydropower, with revenues earmarked for restoration. “New power plants could block these restorations for decades,” warned WWF expert Bettina Urbanek, referring to around 1,900 kilometres earmarked in the national restoration plan.

The producers' reply. Kleinwasserkraft Österreich says the 77% figure is a “statistical construct”: the methodology counts even Natura 2000 areas as unprotected, although every new plant must go through permitting procedures. Managing director Paul Ablinger argues that many existing weirs cannot be removed but can be used for generation. The association estimates more than 770 sites at existing weirs, with a potential of around 550 GWh a year, and says small hydropower produces around 7 TWh annually.

The country's real-time data are on the country page