The city wants to invest millions in flood protection
Winterthur has been largely spared from the floods in recent days. But the next time things would turn out differently, the city wants to be prepared.
—
Despite the constant rain, the Hegmatten retention basin is noticeably empty.
Photo: Enzo Lopardo
More than 16 million francs. This is how much Winterthur wants to invest in the next few years to protect the city from flooding. This can be found in at least one of the minutes of the last city council meeting. Accordingly, measures are necessary for 25 bodies of water. Ueli Sieber, Head of Drainage at the Civil Engineering Office, puts it into perspective: The costs are not just about flood protection. With the planned projects, the city would also make rivers more ecological.
Because if they examine a stream, the canton demands a holistic view. Then they would have to give the stream the space it actually needs, for example. “Otherwise the canton won’t approve projects at all,” says Sieber. Specifically, this is also the case with the Mattenbach, which has the biggest impact at almost 12 million francs. It is to be expanded and revitalized over the next five to ten years.
