“It’s a development that’s easy to explain. Rain has brought water and when these low-pressure zones subside again, the level will drop again,” says Christoph Caspar, spokesman for via-donau. There are natural fluctuations, but the Danube has a very stable level, according to the information on Monday.
The water levels of the shipping route in the Danube between Kienstock in the Wachau and Wildungsmauer east of Vienna are measured. The value in Kienstock on Monday was 344 centimeters, Wildungsmauer had a value of 347 centimeters (as of August 22, 2022). The Danube is only closed to shipping when there is high water and ice. When the tide is low, the ultimate responsibility lies with the skipper, says Caspar.
The water level is measured, among other things, with the regulatory low water level (RNW). The RNW is a static reference value for average water levels observed at a gauge over a longer period of time. For freight shipping on the Danube, the most important reference water levels are the regulatory low water level (RNW) and the maximum shipping water level (HSW).
A general driving ban applies to sports vehicles at water levels above HSW. All other vessels could be banned from shipping under certain circumstances, such as when the water level is more than 90 centimeters above HSW. In the Austrian-German border, shipping and ferry traffic outside the ports is prohibited if the water level of the Danube exceeds a level of 780 centimeters at the Passau-Donau measuring point, according to information from via-donau.
The fairway is that area of a waterway in which the aim is to maintain certain fairway depths and widths that are necessary for shipping traffic. In the case of the Danube, the depth of the fairway determined for the fairway again refers to the regulatory low water level (RNW). The water level is measured with a level that corresponds to the water level at a specific point in the reference profile of the body of water. However, the water level measured in each case does not correspond to the actual water depth of a river, since the zero point of the level does not have to correspond to the value of the river bed, the deepest point of the river.
Source: Nachrichten
