The Minister of Infrastructure invites all the interested people to the six-monthly public consultations of the draft updated flood risk management plans (uFRMP) for the basin areas. The consultations will last from 22 December 2020 to 22 June 2021. 28 consultations meetings are planned in that period in various parts of Poland. This is the most important stage of the project implemented by Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne Wody Polskie.
“We are ready to present the conclusions from the analytical works carried out and a list of specific activities. Based on experience from the first FRMP cycle and other planning documents, including but not limited water management plans and the plan of counteracting drought effects, we prepared a comprehensive draft of uFRMP plans. They include more than 1,100 proposed activities broken into priorities, scales and roles of particular stakeholders when implementing them. This is a precious tool for flood risk management, but it would be just a formal set of provisions if it were not for the public verification. The sense of public consultations is the broad involvement of citizens, various bodies and entities in discussing the developed plans. We want to achieve a programme of feasible activities acceptable at all community tiers. Their purpose is to ensure comprehensive improvement of our safety. We have experience confirming that the social understanding of hydrological hazards, including but not limited to the flood, is very helpful when combating their effects. We need to remember also that the plans focused on the most exposed areas in Poland do not hamper any local activities but support any that promote the development of retention and safety improvement. We hope for a broad participation of citizens and interested stakeholders in the consultations. Let’s say Stop Flooding together”, said Krzysztof Woś, Deputy President of PGW Wody Polskie for Flood and Drought Protection.
How do we consult?
The public consultations will last 6 months, from 22 December 2020 to 22 June 2021. Pursuant to Article 39(1) of the Act of 3 October 2008 on providing information about the environment and its protection, public participation in the environmental protection and about the environmental impact assessments (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 283 as amended) and pursuant to Article 173 of the Water Law (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 310 as amended), they are carried out by the minister competent for water management. The remarks on the draft uFRMP can be provided in several ways:
— by using an online form to be found at www.stoppowodzi.pl/konsultacje
— by sending information to the e-mail address: konsultacje@stoppowodzi.pl;
— in writing in the venue where the documents are available: Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne Wody Polskie, Krajowy Zarząd Gospodarki Wodnej, ul. Żelazna 59A, 00-848 Warsaw;
— in writing to the postal address: Ministry of Infrastructure, Department of Marine Economy and Inland Navigation, ul. Chałubińskiego 4/6, 00-928 Warsaw;
— orally for the record in the Department of Marine Economy and Inland Navigation of the Ministry of Infrastructure at ul. Nowy Świat 6/12 in Warsaw (entrance A, staircase D, III floor, room no. 308).
The draft uFRMPs are available on the project website at: https://stoppowodzi.pl/projekty-apzrp/. The remarks will be investigated gradually and the results will be published on the project website.
28 meetings in Poland
The series of consultation meetings will be opened by the debate in Krakow on 9 February 2021 and finished by the meeting in Słupsk on 27 May 2021. The venues and dates of all consultation meetings are published HERE Due to the pandemics-related restrictions, the meetings in February and March, i.e. in Kraków, Nowy Sącz, Lublin, Dęblin, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poznań, Kalisz, Bydgoszcz, Piła, Rzeszów, Jasło, Stalowa Wola, will be held online using Webex platform. Depending on the sanitary services’ decision, subsequent debates can be held in a face-to-face formula. Information concerning the details of the meeting organisation will be published at www.stoppowodzi.pl
Wody Polskie systematise water management in Poland
Flood, besides drought, is one of the most painful and dangerous natural phenomena affecting the society, the environment and the economy. Contrary to droughts which take a long time to develop, floods evolve in a very short time, sometimes within a few hours. Both those phenomena are more and more intense also in Poland due to climate changes. To improve safety of inhabitants of exposed areas, Państwowe Gospodarstwo Wodne Wody Polskie, according to the provisions of the Flood Directive and the Water Law, prepares flood risk management plans (FRMP) for the basins and water regions on a regular basis. At present, the plan update is prepared. This is the final stage of a 6-year planning cycle which will finish in 2022. Together with the water management plans (PGW) and the plan of combating drought effects (PPSS), PZRP will contribute to the comprehensive systematisation of water management in Poland carried out by Wody Polskie.
The update of FRMP is carried out within the project called “Review and Update of the Flood Risk Management Plans”, project no. POIS.02.01.00-00-0001/19, funded under the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment, Priority Axis II: Environment Protection, including Adaptation to Climate Changes, Activity 2.1 Adaptation to Climate Changes, including Protection from and Increased Resistance to Disasters, including Natural Ones and Environment Monitoring.
Watch a video devoted to the project and public consultations of the draft uFRMPs.