Integrated Rhine Programme (IRP)
The Upper Rhine plays a key role in flood control on the Middle and Lower Rhine. As a result 0f the straightening of the Upper Rhine, floods from the Alps now reach the Middle Rhine much faster than in the past. Thus, the risk of such a peak coinciding with a flood peak of Neckar, Moselle or Main has increased. About 123 km² of flood plain have been lost. Authorities in riparian states of France, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate have launched the Integrated Rhine Programme, a framework for designating water retention areas. to combat downstream flooding. A French-German treaty was concluded in 1982, in which the parties agreed to restore the retention capacity on the stretch below Iffezheim to the level it had before the area was developed.
This means: For the stretch between Iffezheim and the mouth of the Neckar, attenuation of the apex of a 200-year flood (i.e. a flood that statistically occurs once in 200 years) of the Rhine to a discharge of 5000 m³/s at the Maxau gauge station, that is, a reduction from 5700 m³/s to 5000 m³/s.
- for the stretch below the mouth of the Neckar, attenuation of the apex of a 220-year flood to a discharge of 6000 m³/s at the Worms gauge station, that is, a reduction from 6800 m³/s to 6000 m³/s.
For this purpose the following measures are planned and partially implemented:
- By France: Special operations power stations on the Rhine and construction of two polders Erstein and Moder
- By Baden-Württemberg: Construction of about 13 polders
- By Rhineland-Palatinate: construction of polders and relocating levees
The effectiveness of the flood protection measures was verified using a computer model. The State Institute for the Environment, Nature Protection and Measurements in Baden-Württemberg carried out forecast calculations with the help of a mathematical "synoptic flood progression model". The analysis of the calculations and the evaluation of the results were made on the basis of the requirements and methods set by the international Flood Study Commission for the Rhine. The implementation of the proposed flood control measures on the Upper Rhine can prevent the occurrence of a 200-year flood between Iffezheim and Bingen, with an overall economic loss estimated at around 6.2 billion euros.
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