Monitoring

The final documentation presented for the declaration of environmental compatibility included monitoring measures for the issues mentioned (areas to be protected), to be carried out before, during and after the construction period.
The monitoring plan includes all tests or appraisals that are to be periodically or continuously carried out to analyze and describe any effect on the environment.
Construction activities will be monitored at selected points and compared with the threshold values and the requirements in the environmental compatibility declaration.

Monitoring will also take place for cultural heritage areas and natural monuments. The condition and shape of the areas both above and below ground (physical parameters, deformations, changes at the surface) will be observed and documented both qualitatively and quantitatively, before, during and after construction.
Electromagnetic pollution will also be determined and compared to threshold values. Further determinations can thus be made as to whether people’s health and well-being are being jeopardized by values above the threshold level.

Proper monitoring programs (including inspections, photographic documentation, mapping, inclinometer and geodetic measurements) will be carried out near the portals, the construction site areas and the depots during the construction phase. Monitoring will pay particular attention to natural dangers such as rock falls, slides of mud and debris, settling and unstable slopes.

The monitoring of groundwater and mountain water sources before, during and after construction aims to record any change in quality or quantity in the hydrologic and hydro-geological systems due to the construction of the tunnel. Special attention will be paid to springs, wells, brooks and lakes that are privately or publicly used (for drinking water or otherwise).

Assays of water level, rate of flow, electrical conductivity and temperature will be taken every four weeks  Chemical analysis at low and high water levels will be undertaken yearly. Drinking water will also be tested for the presence of bacteria. In each phase in the construction of an individual tunnel segment, tests will be carried out to verify whether the assay and analysis program pertaining to water resources should be intensified.

The specifics of the monitoring program (assay points, length and frequency of the assay) will be defined in detailed planning. The monitoring results will form the basis for decisions on any further protection and compensation measures in the construction and operational phases.

Any areas to be protected pertaining to the Natura 2000 site (Valsertal) will be monitored before, during and after construction according to the guidelines for flora and fauna habitat protection and the protection of birdlife. The relevant indicator groups are mammals, birdlife, amphibians and reptiles, fish, grasshoppers, beetles, macrozoobenthos and land snails. Due to the complexity and diversity of the biological community, not all groups could be included and only the indicator groups and species that are typical of the ecosystems in the project area will be monitored.