17 Water Problems in Urban Areas
413
limiting sources of pollutant emissions and water resources management or restrictive
enforcement of the conditions for obtaining water permits for facilities harmful to the
water environment. Detailed rules and conditions for the use of water resources in the
city in terms of planning, design, construction and technological solutions, including
ownership rights, controls and appropriate sanctions are regulated by implementing
regulations. Local governments of Polish cities currently pay the greatest attention
to ways of reducing the risk of flooding. The documents that underlie the spatial
policy are flood hazard maps (flood risk areas coverage, depths, ordinates of water
table), flood risk maps (flood losses, population and objects at risk of flooding) and
flood risk management plans. These maps were handed to administrative units by
the National Water Management Authority in 2015. Governments of many cities,
knowing the extents of the above areas, include them in local spatial development
plans and in decisions on determining the location of public-purpose investments or
development conditions. These maps have become an essentialsource of information
as well as an effective tool for setting priorities and making further decisions of a
technical and financial nature [66, 144, 145].
According to Romanowicz et al. [146] technical investment projects limiting
the effects of flooding in cities mainly include: multi-purpose retention reservoirs
(e.g. in Włocławek, in Dobczyce, in Nysa), polders (e.g. Racibórz, Wrocław), flood
embankments on major rivers (e.g. in Warsaw with a length of 69 km, including
Vistula River—52 km) and their tributaries in backflow zone in cities around
the country (e.g. Narew River—Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Czarna Staszowska—
Połaniec). In addition, these are relief canals (e.g. Opole, Wrocław, Konin, ´
Srem,
Gorzów Wielkopolski), reconstruction of large river beds (e.g. the Flood Canal and
the Odra Miejska in Wrocław) as well as the introduction of natural reinforcements of
the banks of small watercourses. Other technical activities include, above all, repairs
and modernization of existing hydraulic engineering (including bridges, culverts—
eliminating their insufficient capacity causing accumulation of flood waters) and
damming devices (often exploited for several decades and is in poor condition).
A critical issue to be solved in Polish cities is to undertake systematic actions
aimed at reducing surface runoff and increasing retention, especially in a city center.
This can be achieved by replacing the traditional “gray” infrastructure with “bluegreen” elements [147–149]. Such solutions include: construction and reconstruction
of small water reservoirs (e.g. the Arturówek reservoir in Łód´ z) and the creation of
absorptive (infiltrative) traps, green terraces and roofs (e.g. the Warsaw University
Library in Warsaw, Opolska Business Park and Kärcher in Cracow), rain gardens
(e.g. in Katowice, Gda´ nsk, Łód´ z) and open drains (rain gutters) with a cascade
system delaying the runoff. A model example of the use of most of the solutions
mentioned above is the modern Marina Mokotów housing estate in Warsaw, where the
public space has been combined attractively with the blue-green rainwater management system. In the central part of the estate, there is a reservoir fed with rainwater
from the roofs of 87 residential buildings, surrounded by greenery and multi-level
walking paths with small architecture—bridges, terraces, piers, cascades, water walls
and fountains [150]. Similar interesting solutions for limiting surface runoff appear
413
limiting sources of pollutant emissions and water resources management or restrictive
enforcement of the conditions for obtaining water permits for facilities harmful to the
water environment. Detailed rules and conditions for the use of water resources in the
city in terms of planning, design, construction and technological solutions, including
ownership rights, controls and appropriate sanctions are regulated by implementing
regulations. Local governments of Polish cities currently pay the greatest attention
to ways of reducing the risk of flooding. The documents that underlie the spatial
policy are flood hazard maps (flood risk areas coverage, depths, ordinates of water
table), flood risk maps (flood losses, population and objects at risk of flooding) and
flood risk management plans. These maps were handed to administrative units by
the National Water Management Authority in 2015. Governments of many cities,
knowing the extents of the above areas, include them in local spatial development
plans and in decisions on determining the location of public-purpose investments or
development conditions. These maps have become an essentialsource of information
as well as an effective tool for setting priorities and making further decisions of a
technical and financial nature [66, 144, 145].
According to Romanowicz et al. [146] technical investment projects limiting
the effects of flooding in cities mainly include: multi-purpose retention reservoirs
(e.g. in Włocławek, in Dobczyce, in Nysa), polders (e.g. Racibórz, Wrocław), flood
embankments on major rivers (e.g. in Warsaw with a length of 69 km, including
Vistula River—52 km) and their tributaries in backflow zone in cities around
the country (e.g. Narew River—Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Czarna Staszowska—
Połaniec). In addition, these are relief canals (e.g. Opole, Wrocław, Konin, ´
Srem,
Gorzów Wielkopolski), reconstruction of large river beds (e.g. the Flood Canal and
the Odra Miejska in Wrocław) as well as the introduction of natural reinforcements of
the banks of small watercourses. Other technical activities include, above all, repairs
and modernization of existing hydraulic engineering (including bridges, culverts—
eliminating their insufficient capacity causing accumulation of flood waters) and
damming devices (often exploited for several decades and is in poor condition).
A critical issue to be solved in Polish cities is to undertake systematic actions
aimed at reducing surface runoff and increasing retention, especially in a city center.
This can be achieved by replacing the traditional “gray” infrastructure with “bluegreen” elements [147–149]. Such solutions include: construction and reconstruction
of small water reservoirs (e.g. the Arturówek reservoir in Łód´ z) and the creation of
absorptive (infiltrative) traps, green terraces and roofs (e.g. the Warsaw University
Library in Warsaw, Opolska Business Park and Kärcher in Cracow), rain gardens
(e.g. in Katowice, Gda´ nsk, Łód´ z) and open drains (rain gutters) with a cascade
system delaying the runoff. A model example of the use of most of the solutions
mentioned above is the modern Marina Mokotów housing estate in Warsaw, where the
public space has been combined attractively with the blue-green rainwater management system. In the central part of the estate, there is a reservoir fed with rainwater
from the roofs of 87 residential buildings, surrounded by greenery and multi-level
walking paths with small architecture—bridges, terraces, piers, cascades, water walls
and fountains [150]. Similar interesting solutions for limiting surface runoff appear