The Děčín Weir (Czech: Plavební stupeň Děčín) is a planned weir and lock complex on the Elbe River, in Děčín in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic.
Description[edit]
The site of the proposed weir and lock system is between Děčín-Loubí and Děčín-Prostřední Žleb not far from the German border at river kilometre 737.02 (navigation km 98.98). It will consist of a weir, a lock, a small hydropower station and two fish ladders.
Purpose[edit]
The Děčín weir is part of Czech attempts to improve navigation on the Elbe by increasing the regulation of flow. The declared aim is a draught of at least 140 cm on c. 345 days per year.
Controversy[edit]
Opponents of the project question whether a measurable economic benefit can be achieved, since the navigability of the Elbe is also limited below the site by weather-driven interruptions. Thus is also concern that the Děčín weir will raise the pressure on Germany to establish similar structures on its section of the Elbe.
The project has also been criticised for its impact on the environment and on landscape and flood protection and, since 2000, there have been many objections, especially on the German side.[1][2] The government of neighbouring Saxony is opposed to the weir: in 2005 the then Environment Minister, Stanislaw Tillich, intervened at the EU, to block its funding of the project and, in 2010, Environment Minister Frank Kupfer (both CDU) also objected[3] and tested whether the project could be prevented if necessary by action.[4]
External links[edit]
- Excerpt from documents about the environmental impact of the proposal iaw para. 8 of Act No. 100/2001 Slg. – Staustufe Děčín (Tetschen)
- Wasser- und Schifffahrtsdirektion Ost: Press release Staustufe Děčín in der Elbe in Tschechien Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
- MDR Sachsen: Anhörungsverfahren zu Elbstaustufe hat begonnen[permanent dead link], 25 October 2010
- www.radio.cz (Radio Prag): Die Elbe: Der letzte frei fließende Fluss in Mitteleuropa im Clinch der Interessen, 24 August 2005
- Fraktion BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN im Sächsischen Landtag: Die Elbe – Flusslandschaft oder Schifffahrtsweg?, 2007
References[edit]
- ^ aus einem Blog of 2001: „Staustufe ‚Prostřední Žleb‘ bei km 99 – inmitten des Landschaftsschutzgebietes „Elbesandsteine“ [...]. Vom 10. April bis 9. Mai 2000 hatten sächsische Bürger die Gelegenheit, sich zur Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung (UVP) der Staustufenprojekte zu äußern. [...]“
- ^ Oznameni zameru Plavebni stupen Decin dle zakona c. 100/2001 Sb. Zari 2005 – Stellungnahme des Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland, Kreisgruppe Dresden zur Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung zum Vorhaben der Elbe- Staustufe Decin (Prostredni Žleb) Archived 2011-08-15 at the Wayback Machine, 9 March 2006
- ^ Sächsische Zeitung: Sachsen legt Widerspruch gegen Elbe-Staustufe ein, 20. November 2010
- ^ dd-inside.com: Sachsen erwägt Klage wegen Elbe-Staustufe in Tschechien, 10 November 2010