Hidrológiai Közlöny, 2017 (97. évfolyam)
2017 / 3. szám - MANAGING WATER QUALITY (ONGOING PROJECTS AND FUTURE CHALLENGES) - Baranya Sándor - Józsa János - Kéri Barbara - Bakonyi Péter - Habersack, Helmut - Haimann, Mariene - Holubova, Katarina - Lukac, Miroslav - Tuchiu, Elena - Vartolomei, Florin - Aussendorf, Michael: Danube Sediment Management Restoration of the Sediment Balance in the Danube River (további szerző: Christoph Maier)
42 Hidrológiai Közlöny (Hungarian Journal of Hydrology) 2017. 97. évf. 3. sz. Danube Sediment Management - Restoration of the Sediment Balance in the Danube River Sándor Baranya1, János Józsa2, Barbara Kéri1, Péter Bakonyi1, Helmut Habersack3, Marlene Haimann3, Katarina Holubova4, Miroslav Lukac4, Elena Tuchiu5, Florin Vartolomei6, Michael Außendorf7 and Christoph Maier7 (E-mail: baranya.sandor@epito.bme.hu ) 1 Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Dept, of Hydraulic and Water Resources Engineering 2 Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Rector 3 University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Institute for Water Management, Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering 4 River Morphology and Hydrology Department, Slovakian Water Research Institute (WRI) 5 Management Plans Department, National Administration of Romanian Waters 6 National Administration of Romanian Waters 7 Bavarian Environment Agency Abstract An increasing discrepancy between surplus and lack of sediment can be observed in the Danube Basin. This leads to an increase of flood risks and a reduction of navigation possibilities, hydropower production and biodiversity. Thus, sediment transport and sediment management are urgent issues. Since the Danube crosses administrative and political borders, sediment management can only be treated in a transnational, basin-wide approach. The lack of sediment management has been recognized by the ICPDR in the Danube River Basin Management Plan. Therefore, the main objective of the DanubeSediment project is to improve water and sediment management as well as the morphology of the Danube River. To close existing knowledge gaps, sediment data collection will be performed. This will provide information for the sediment data analysis and will lead to a handbook on good practices of sediment monitoring methods. Furthermore, a baseline document on the Danube Sediment Balance will be prepared, which explains the problems that arise with sediment discontinuity negatively influencing flood risk, inland navigation, ecology and hydropower production. Possible answers to these problems will be provided by a catalogue of measures. The main outputs of the project will be the first Danube Sediment Management Guidance comprising measures to be implemented and a Sediment Manual for stakeholders consisting of approaches on implementing these measures. The outputs will deliver key contributions to the Danube River Basin Management Plan and the Danube Flood Risk Management Plan. A sustainable sediment management in the Danube Basin will improve navigation conditions, reduce flood risk and enhance the ecological status as well as sustainable hydropower production. International Stakeholder Workshops will be organized to reach the target groups and end-users of the project results, to establish an efficient interaction with them and to train experts. Keywords Danube, sediment balance, Danube Transnational Programme. PROJECT BACKGROUND In the Danube Basin an increasing discrepancy between surplus (e.g. reservoir sedimentation) and deficit (river bed and coastal erosion) of sediment can be observed. As a consequence, it increases flood risk, reduces navigation possibilities, reduces hydropower production, deteriorates the ecological conditions of the Danube River. The lack of coordinated transnational sediment management has been recognized by the First Danube River Basin Management Plan, DRBMP, evidently indicating the need for a change and calling for a relevant concrete answer. There exist examples for basin wide sediment management plans for European rivers such as the Sava, but no sediment management strategy exists for the Danube River, despite the fact that Danube plays an essential role in the economy and the society of the Danube Region. It is now clear that sediment transport along the Danube River has an immediate impact on water management activities and flood risk and there is a strong need to bridge the knowledge gap and to improve the sediment management which directly contributes to strengthening transnational water management and flood risk prevention. By addressing the need to develop the first transnational Danube Sediment Management Guidance the project will feed concrete recommendations, explaining what sort of measures to be implemented to improve sediment management, into the next Danube River Basin Management Plan as well as into the Danube Flood Risk Management Plan. Additionally, a Sediment Manual for Stakeholders will be developed which explains how to implement these measures, and will also introduce good practices for sediment management. The involvement of a large group of relevant stakeholders will ensure the project sustainability on the level of the major water users within the Danube Region. PROJECT MAIN OBJECTIVES AND STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT The main objective of the project is to improve the transnational water and sediment management as well as the morphological conditions of the Danube River. There will be three specific objectives of the project. The first one is to improve awareness on sediment quantity related problems in the Danube River Basin. The second one is to develop an innovative approach for transnational sediment management. The combination of a multi-sectoral with a multi-stakeholder interrelation and a transnational, cross cutting sediment management at basin, sectoral and local scales forms an innovative approach. This approach combines the data based sediment balance and good practice sediment management measures, aiming to a Sediment
