The National Council will adjust the law due to increasing flood risk.
Published: Monday, Sep 18th 2023, 18:00
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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The Swiss National Council has voted in favour of a revision of the Water Construction Act, which will legally enshrine flood risk management. The Council voted 180 to 0 in favour of the proposal, which will now go to the Council of States. The Federal Council wants to address new challenges posed by climate change and increasing population density in Switzerland with the proposal. The current Water Construction Act dates back to 1991 and has shifted its focus from risk prevention to integrated risk management. The Federal Council estimates that the additional costs of the proposal will be 30 million Swiss francs per year, bringing the total subsidies for protection against natural hazards and revitalisation to 330 million Swiss francs. The National Council also voted in favour of the Federal Council's proposal that the Federal Government should finance the maintenance of newly designed watercourses for five years. However, Environment Minister Albert Rösti argued that there was no reason to burden the Federal Government with this cost, as the Federal funds for revitalisation are already scarce.
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