Updating flood risk management plans
Flood, next to drought, is one of the most severe and dangerous natural phenomena occurring in the country and affecting society, the environment and the economy. While droughts develop over a long period of time, usually within months or even years, floods are a violent phenomenon, revealing their destructive power in a very short time, often even within hours. In order to increase the safety of the inhabitants of endangered areas, the Polish Water Management Authority, in accordance with the provisions of the Floods Directive and the Water Law Act, regularly prepares flood risk management plans (FRMP) for river basins and water regions. Currently, an update of the previous, first FRMP is being prepared. This is the last stage of the 6-year planning cycle that will end in 2022. The FRMP together with the Water Management Plans (PGW) and the Drought Effects Counteracting Plan (PPSS) will contribute to the comprehensive improvement of the water management in Poland implemented by Polish Waters.
Work on updating FRMP was preceded by the preparation of a review and update of the preliminary flood risk assessment (aWORP) as well as the review and update of flood hazard maps (aMZP) and flood risk maps (aMRP). The purpose of the WORP was to designate areas at risk of flooding, i.e. areas where there is a significant flood risk or where the occurrence of a high risk is likely. Then, for these areas, updated flood hazard maps and flood risk maps were prepared. For the first time in Poland, they include maps for other types of floods than river floods – associated with potential failures of retention reservoirs. The map improvements also result from by using more accurate and advanced terrain models and information on time-varying hydrological data. This allowed for a much more precise delineation of the endangered areas.
The obligation to develop flood risk management plans and their periodic review and update result from Art. 7 sec. 5 and art. 14 sec. 3 of Directive 2007/60 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks, referred to as the Floods Directive, transferred to Polish legislation through the Water Law Act (Article 163 (6) and Article 173 sections 19-21 of the Water Law Act).