Reviving the Kramarica
A project supported by the Open Rivers Programme
When we first came to this valley, it was the water that struck us. The Koroška Kramarica runs cold and clear off Smrekovec mountain, and something about it made us want to stay. People here still remember catching trout in this stream by hand - that's how alive it once was.
We live in this watershed now, and the river isn't an abstract cause for us - it's the water we hear every day, the stream we cross into the valley, the very first thing we check after heavy rain. We believe people who live alongside a river have a role to play in its future, and this project is our attempt to take that seriously.
The floods of the 1990s came before our time here, but we've inherited what they left behind: concrete barriers and lifeless streams. Most barriers are now filled with sediment, and their flood-protection value is questionable - in the 2012 and 2023 floods, they seem to have done little to protect the valley below. What they do clearly is block life including trout from their spawning grounds and disrupt the sediment that keeps this headwater healthy.
So we're taking a closer look. With support from the Open Rivers Programme, we're launching a 12-month feasibility study - work that could reopen some 10 kilometres of river. We'll be working alongside experts with extensive experiences in mountain streams and the upper Drava region, assessing sediment movement, surveying fish and habitat, and consulting closely with the municipality and water authorities.
We're calling this the Kramarica Living Watershed Lab - our commitment to documenting what we do, sharing what we learn, and keeping the door open for other communities asking the same questions.
After the devastating floods of 2023, the worst in Slovenia's history, we think this kind of careful, evidence-led work matters more than ever.
The European Open Rivers Programme is a Dutch grant-giving organisation dedicated to restoring rivers. The programme offers grants to support projects that lead to the removal of small dams and the restoration of river flow and biodiversity. The programme is funded by Arcadia.
