Environmental Assistance to Eastern Europe

4. Danish environmental assistance following the floods in Poland and the Czech Republic

4. Danish environmental assistance following the floods in Poland and the Czech republic
4.1 Consequences of the floods
4.2 Danish environmental assistance

4.1 Consequences of the floods

Poland has suffered many floods over the years, especially along the River Odra and the Vistula. The floods that hit Poland in July 1997 were particularly serious along the River Odra, where the water stood at a depth of more than 4 metres in the streets. More than 140,000 people had to be evacuated when 86 towns and 845 villages were flooded. The estimated cost of the flood damage is around DKK 20 billion.

The floods also hit the Czech Republic, along the Elbe, the Odra and the Morava, where about 50 people lost their lives. The Czech authorities stated that more than 50% of the country was affected by the flooding. The cost of the damage to housing, bridges, etc. is estimated to be DKK 10 - 20 billion.

4.2 Danish environmental assistance

On 25 July 1997, DEPA made a grant of DKK 570,000 for hire, transportation and operation of a mobile waterworks for the Polish town of Wroclaw following a request for help from the local water supply company. The plant was initially intended to supply clean drinking water to hospitals in the town, but a decision was later made to supply 10,000 households in an area of the town which had no water supply at all.

On 29 October 1997, the Finance Committee of the Danish Parliament (the Folketing) adopted a document on environmental assistance to regions affected by floods in Poland (DKK 25 million) and the Czech Republic (DKK 5 million).

At the request of the Polish Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry, DEPA decided to make a grant for transferring Danish technology and know-how concerning flood warning and control of floods to Poland. The cost of transferring software programs, training and know-how amounts to DKK 6.4 million. The project will take 2½ years.

DEPA decided at the same time to make a grant of DKK 4.3 million in support of a similar project in the Czech Republic.

This assistance will achieve two objectives: to transfer up-to-date technology and know-how about flooding and flood control to the two countries’ authorities and, since the River Odra runs through both countries, to ensure co-ordination of the activities to prevent flooding.

A contract has been entered into with the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) for the supply of technology and know-how about flooding in the form of software programs, consulting services and training. The consulting firm Geomor is participating as DHI’s local consultant in the Polish project. Correspondingly, the consulting firm Hydroinform is participating in the Czech project.

The software program developed by DHI is an advanced mathematical model called MIKE 11, which can be used to simulate water quantities and water levels in a river system.

The computer model can calculate flood warnings on the basis of meteorological reports of precipitation and information on the actual conditions in river beds.

The computer model also enables the establishment of a long-term strategy for flood control because it can be used to calculate the areas that must be zoned in advance for controlled flooding. In the longer term, flooding can thereby be avoided or reduced in other areas, where it would do far more damage.

The project will focus on strengthening the Polish and Czech authorities’ technology and knowledge of flooding through use of MIKE 11. Training programmes, workshops and on-the-job training are part of the project. The software package - which contains an operational warning system for the middle and upper reaches of the Odra river system, the upper reaches of Vistula river system, and the Morava river system - will be installed at the local authorities’ institutions.

The floods in Poland damaged water supply installations and waste water treatment plants in many urban areas. DEPA decided to help the Polish authorities rebuild these facilities and thus protect the environment and public health.

DEPA has had three missions in the flooded areas in the Opole region, where a number of rehabilitation projects were identified, comprising water and waste water treatment plants, boiler systems and a recipient monitoring system, which had been damaged during the floods. DEPA made a grant of DKK 0.6 million for these missions, which were co-ordinated with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry and the local environmental authorities in the Opole region.

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