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Description of the project area in the City of Linz (A):

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Project area: Linz

Location: The project area covers approximately half of the city and focuses on the plains along the rivers Danube and Traun. The central parts of the city are excluded. Due to land use patterns and the use of the groundwater four investigation areas can be distinguished (see figure 1):

  

Urfahr

  • Land use: housing and commercial
  • Groundwater use: drinking water (two public water supply plants – Heilham and Plesching – see figure 2)
  • Investigation: under progress, actually four known contaminated sites
  • Main contaminants: volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons
  • Remediation projects: running at three sites, finalised at one site
  1. Lustenau
  • Land use: commercial area, harbours
  • Former land use: Landfill
  • Groundwater use: commercial purposes
  • Investigation: under progress
  • Main contaminants: mineral oil, volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons, ammonia
  • Remediation projects: several at mineral oil storage sites
  1. St. Peter
  • Land use: chemical industries, steelwork
  • Groundwater use: industrial production
  • Investigation: in preparation
  • Main contaminants: not known yet – suspected: chlorinated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
  1. Wegscheid/Kleinmünchen
  • Land use: housing and commercial
  • Former land use: landfills (partially)
  • Groundwater use: drinking water (one public water supply plant – Scharlinz, see figure 2)
  • Investigation: in preparation
  • Main contaminants: not known yet – suspected: nitrates, pesticides (chlorinated hydrocarbons, heavy metals)

Hydrogeological situation:

The hydrogeological situation within the project area is homogeneous. The subsoil of the basins along the rivers Danube and Traun can be characterised as alluvial quartenary sediments or sandy gravels. This first layer is the main aquifer within the region. At the bottom of the aquifer, at a depth of 20 to 30 m low permeable tertiary silty sediments are located. The groundwater table is very shallow at a depth of 5 to 10 meters.

Due to a hydro-electrical power station at the Danube east of Linz the water table of the Danube has been raised and the natural communication between the surface waters and the local groundwater bodies had been disturbed. To keep the groundwater tables in the project area stable a couple of measures (barriers, groundwater drainage systems and wells; see figure 2) had to be implemented along the Danube.