The agricultural area between Sins and Mühlau in the canton of Aargau, which is already regularly flooded by the Reuss, has high floodplain potential. Now it is gradually being transformed into a new floodplain landscape through a renaturation project.
Together with the Canton of Aargau, Pro Natura Aargau launched the planning of the floodplain renaturation in Sins-Reussegg over 20 years ago. Pro Natura Aargau is now informing in a media text that the major project will start this summer. The meadow landscape will be created on an area the size of more than 20 football fields. The measures in connection with the floodplain project cost around 10.5 million. For example, in addition to new floodplain habitats, a water pumping station must be relocated and a contaminated site must be rehabilitated. Despite everything, nature is not neglected. New tributaries of the Reuss, ponds, wet meadows and dry sites are being designed to initiate the typical habitat mosaic of the floodplains. Future floods on the Reuss will continue to shape the area.
With the design of the around 20 hectare floodplain landscape, Aargau is getting closer to its constitutional goal of creating high-quality floodplain landscapes on at least 1% of the canton's area. But the project also shows how incredibly important the floodplains are for the local biodiversity - after all, up to 80% of all native animal and plant species occur in the floodplain landscapes. The floodplain regeneration project creates a habitat for endangered animal and plant species, such as the tree frog, the natterjack toad and the nose (a species of fish!). In particular, the interlinking effect of floodplain renaturation on these target species is of great importance. Large floodplains are also important oases for recreation for the population. Therefore, in the Aue Sins-Reussegg, an interesting local recreation and observation offer is to be created in the future.