New Danube next to the Reichsbrücke. Private motorboats are not permitted on the New Danube. It has been described as an "autobahn for swimmers", due to its use by people to commute around the city. New Danube The New Danube (German Neue Donau) is a side channel built in 1972–88 on the eastern side of the Danube in Vienna, Austria. It was created to provide flood relief by containing excess water. The Donauinsel (Danube Island), made out of the removed material, separates the new waterway from the main channel of the river. The project was referred to by the United Nations Human
International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River and the ground water resources. The ICPDR’ legal basis is the “Convention on Cooperation for the Protection and Sustainable use of the Danube River (Danube River Protection Convention)”, generally referred to as the “Danube River Protection Convention” or “DRPC”. It commits the contracting parties to join their efforts in sustainable water management, including conservation of surface and ground water, pollution reduction, and the prevention and control of floods, accidents and ice hazards. The convention was signed in Sofia, Bulgaria, in 1994 and came into force in October 1998. The ICPDR was created to implement the Danube River Protection Convention (DRPC).