The Swabian town of Dinkelscherben was badly hit by the June floods. Now the breakthrough has finally been achieved for a retention basin that has been planned for years and is intended to prevent such disasters. The case is exemplary for the whole of Bavaria.
If one were to name a symbolic place for the current dispute over flood protection in Bavaria, then the choice would most likely fall on Dinkelscherben. The town of 6800 inhabitants in the Augsburg district was badly hit by the floods in June. The Zusam completely flooded the community. The damage amounts to at least 50 million euros. Dinkelscherben could have been protected from such a catastrophe long ago. Plans have long been in place for the Siefenwang retention basin, which is intended to prevent such a catastrophe. The building permit was also granted eleven years ago. But negotiations with the landowners stalled until the very end because a community of heirs and two individual owners did not want to accept the price that the Free State offered them for their land. The other almost 100 landowners affected by the plans have long since agreed to the Free State’s offer.