Today, took place the first of a series of conferences as part of the Stop the Flood project, implemented by Polish Waters. About 200 experts debated the methodology of developing Flood Risk Management Plans. The plan update, which started in March, will culminate in the creation of a new 6-year plan that will apply from 2022.
Deputy Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation Anna Moskwa, who opened the conference and said that the state of flood protection in Poland is gradually improving. She emphasized referring to the current hydrological and meteorological situation in the south of Poland that thanks to the implemented investments, it is possible to increase the effectiveness of defense against floods:
– High rises, which are today comparable to those from 2010, especially in Silesia. Let us imagine a situation when we don’t have the Racibórz reservoir or the Buków reservoir preceding it. Now we’re much better prepared for the flood than in 2010, both in terms of investment and management. Deputy Minister Anna Moskwa also emphasized the importance of flood protection investments carried out in the Kłodzko Valley, which was particularly affected by the flood of 1997. Anna Moskwa noted that nearly 350 million PLN will be allocated to flood protection investments in the Kłodzko Valley.
Krzysztof Woś, Deputy President of Polish Waters for Protection Against Floods and Droughts, said that it’s necessary to adopt a coherent strategy, both nationwide and locally, which gives the opportunity to protect against the effects of extreme hydrological phenomena: – Floods cannot be avoided, but by appropriate actions, their effects can be limited. The strategy recommends the construction of multifunctional reservoirs that collect rainwater during high water and retain it during drought. Actions in the field of large and small retention as well as micro-retention are necessary.
– We look at investments in water management comprehensively. The same weirs that a few days ago served to increase the amount of water in the streams, and thus lead it effectively to drainage ditches and provide water in agriculture, we now use to keep this water and not lead to flooding of the same areas – summed up the Deputy Minister Anna Moskwa.
Since its inception, Polish Waters meet the requirements of the so-called The EU Floods Directive, which requires the preparation of a number of planning documents regarding flood risk. One of them is the Flood Risk Management Plan (PZRP), which is based on three pillars. The first is the removal of floods from people, incl. recommending the construction of retention reservoirs and embankments as well as activities in the field of natural retention. The second is to move people away from floods through proper spatial planning to avoid construction, especially residential, in flood plains. The third one teaches how to live with a flood and how to manage it as effectively as possible, how to deal with it during and after it has passed, incl. building early warning and forecasting systems, broadly understood flood education, including education on social security issues.
The water issues in our country require a comprehensive approach. Flood and drought are two aspects of the same problem: the dangerous effects of climate change, as manifested in water scarcity or excess. Therefore, when forecasting measures to minimize the risk of flooding, one should also bear in mind the phenomenon of drought which is becoming more and more frequent in our country.