Aerial view of a river power plant, a forested area in the foreground and agricultural fields in the background.

Project News

Natura 2000 Day: District President visits new Braunau-Simbach bypass watercourse

On May 21, 2024, leading decision-makers from Bavaria and Upper Austria were informed about the construction progress of the new bypass watercourse at the VERBUND Braunau-Simbach power plant as part of the Natura 2000 Day.

from left to right - Christoph Stein, Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection - Johann Springer, Mayor of Kirchdorf am Inn - District Administrator Raimund Kneidinger (Passau district) - Rainer Haselbeck, District President of Lower Bavaria - Deputy District Administrator of Rottall-Inn Edeltraud Plattner - Günter Winterstätter, Braunau am Inn town councillor - Gerold Bauer, 3rd Mayor of Ering am Inn - Herfried Harreiter, VERBUND Hydropower

Group of eight individuals dressed in a mix of formal and casual attire, standing on a gravel ground with a natural forest backdrop.

Natura-2000 Family Day

May 21st, 2024

Floodplain adventure afternoon with the Natura 2000 rally

On May 21, 2024, a floodplain adventure afternoon for families will take place at the Waldsee in Kirchdorf am Inn (Bavaria) around the Braunau-Simbach Inn power plant. Young and old can discover the ecological measures implemented in the river landscape as part of the EU LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn project and experience them with the "Natura 2000 Rally".

Throughout the area there are informative and entertaining experience stations:

Learn more about the "LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn" project with VERBUND and explore the new bypass water at the Braunau-Simbach power plant with guided tours.
Naturium on the Inn
Children's adventure station of the Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management
Life in the Inn at the bypass with fish you can touch
Meadow habitat at and on the Inn dams
Observing birds at the forest lake with spotting scopes

VERBUND, the Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management (ANL) and the Naturium am Inn are the organizers of the action day to mark European Natura 2000 Day.

Hikers and a cyclist on a path next to a muddy river winding through a wooded landscape, in sunny weather.

Impressions from 2023

Individual in a blue tee-shirt proudly holding a large fish in their hands.

Individual in a blue tee-shirt measuring a small, green fish over a plastic tub.

Individuals in casual attire conversing under a canopy with "Verbund" signage next to a van.

Informational flyers and brochures on a wooden table outdoors, weighted down with stones.

LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn realizes improvements for plants and animals with the closure of the "ice channel".

March 2024

The "ice channel" is a connection between the main branch of the Inn and an oxbow lake, also known as the "Heitzinger Bucht". Through this connection, around 8,000 m³ of fine sediment enter the old Inn water system every year, causing turbidity and sedimentation. The habitats now benefit from the closure of the ice channel. Greater depths of visibility and higher water temperatures in the oxbow lakes will encourage the growth of aquatic plants and improve the habitat for bird, amphibian, fish and insect species.

Aerial view of a winding river with murky water around a land spit with trees, a path and a pile of stones are visible.

Groundbreaking for fish pass at Braunau-Simbach

July 2023

Start of construction on the near-natural bypass river of the Braunau-Simbach power plant: the dynamic design of the bypass river offers space for protecting species diversity in and around the water.

Read press release

Group of individuals at a groundbreaking ceremony at a construction site with an excavator and informational signs in the background.

Renaturation at VERBUND's Ering-Frauenstein power plant

November 2022

VERBUND has implemented an exemplary project for river continuity and habitats at the Ering-Frauenstein power plant. The "Passability and Habitat" project, implemented by VERBUND at the Ering-Frauenstein power plant, was exemplary and largely responsible for the creation of LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn.

Watch video on YouTube

: A colorful butterfly perches on light purple blooming flowers against a blurred green background.

Preparatory work

November 2021 - February 2022

Initial work for ecological measures for connecting waterways, wetland dynamics and habitats on land and in the water over a length of approx. 3.0 km

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Aerial view of a run-of-river power plant on a river, surrounded by farmland on a sunny day.

Inn river bank restoration in the area of the Mattig estuary

November 2021

The Inn bank in the area of the Mattig estuary is now being dismantled as a contribution to the INTERREG project “INNsieme”.

Read press release INNsieme project

A natural water area surrounded by trees and reeds.

Sunset above a meandering river flowing through a green landscape, with soft sunlight illuminating the water.

Project Launch (October 2020)

As a power plant operator, VERBUND and its project partners – the government of Lower Bavaria, the conservation department of the office of the Upper Austrian provincial government, and the provincial fishery associations of Upper Austria and Bavaria – applied for the EU-LIFE nature project “LIFE Riverscape Lower Inn” and received a funding commitment from the EU.

Read Press Release