via donau – Österreichische Wasserstraßen-Gesellschaft mbH is responsible for the following tasks:

Administration of federal waterways

• Regulation, preservation and development of waters
• Flood protection
• Water protection
• Riverside engineering
• Planning, construction and preservation of towpaths
• Construction and preservation of federal ports and landing sites
• Hydrography and implementation of favourable drainage conditions
• Federal agendas pursuant to the Federal Act on the Creation of a Danube Flood

Control Agency

• Regulation and preservation of waterways
• Administration of public waters
• Administration of movable and immovable federal property
• Tasks pursuant to the Hydraulic Engineering Assistance Act

Development of inland waterway transport

• Development and management of projects designed to increase intermodal and commercial waterway transport
• Development and implementation of new technologies and systems for inland waterways
• Promotion of inland waterway transport, lobbying on both the national and international level, promotion of strategic partnerships
• Implementation of pioneering projects designed to set up intermodal transport axes
• Implementation of studies, surveys and research projects as well as execution of management tasks concerning the above mentioned fields for third parties and particularly public authorities

Operation of navigation information systems
(RIS- River Information Services)

Lock supervision

• via donau performs sovereign functions in the areas of lock (all locks along the Danube as well as the Nussdorf lock), weir and water supervision.

All statutory requirements pertaining to the Waterways Act can be found in the Federal Law Gazette 177/2004.