The Einser Canal (Hungarian Hansági-föcsatorna) was completed in 1895 and laid out by Hungary to drain the Hanság swamps and to regulate the outflow-free Lake Neusiedl. Periods of flooding in the times of the monarchy inundated entire villages and alternated with times when the lake dried up completely.
The canal runs only on Hungarian territory, initially directly parallel to the border between Austria and Hungary and drains Lake Neusiedl to the Danube. After about 30 km of flow, the Einser Canal flows into the Rabnitz, which is heavily regulated there.
The flow speed is very low, but clearly noticeable in north-westerly winds. Every year several million cubic meters flow from the lake over the Rabnitz into the Danube. When the Danube floods, the water returns to the lake due to the backwater. The operating instructions for the lock on the Einserkanal are based on the mean rainfall over the past three years.
The Einser Canal has led to a lowering of the salt content and at the same time to an increase in the reed belt in Lake Neusiedl. The canal is surrounded by a dam on both sides. Swans breed in its dense belt of reeds, which partially narrows the canal to two to four meters.
Problems: In 2014, more water was drained due to the high water level in Lake Neusiedl. Leakage in the dams along the canal flooded large cultivated areas. On the Austrian side alone, in the municipalities of Wallern im Bgld., Tadten, Pamhagen and Andau, around 2000 hectares were half a meter under water.