Every year, World Water Day draws attention to the growing problems with this element. How can we ensure that the Czech Republic can compete in a world where water is no longer a given? Experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the BUT, Daniel Marton and Aleš Dráb, draw attention to extreme fluctuations and stress the importance of smart water management. The 2024 floods tested the resilience of the Czech system, which stood up thanks to early prediction and effective measures. Yet the sector is plagued by a shortage of experts, which may jeopardise the country's ability to respond to climate challenges in the future.

Climate changes, water responds

 

World Water Day, proclaimed by the United Nations in 1993, is a reminder of the importance of protecting water resources every March 22. This year's event focuses on the protection of glaciers and draws attention to their melting, which is accelerating due to climate change.

Climate change is manifesting itself in a number of other symptoms, including rising sea levels and increasing air and ocean temperatures. It is also associated with more frequent extreme events - heat waves, droughts and floods. This makes effective water management and conservation measures, in which the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the BUT is actively involved, all the more important.

There are three institutes dealing with water. The Institute of Landscape Water Management ( ILWM) focuses on water management in the landscape, effective water retention and natural methods of water purification. The Institute of Water Structures ( IWST) designs and studies hydrotechnical structures - dams, hydroelectric power plants, flood protection measures, navigation facilities - and analyses water flow and reliability of structures using numerical models and laboratory research. And the Municipal Water Management Institute ( MWMI) deals with key areas of municipal water management such as water supply and wastewater treatment. Experts from these institutes work with students on national and international projects specifically responding to climate change.

Between droughts and floods

The hydrological balance of the Czech Republic , which analyses water gains and losses and changes in water reserves on our territory, is important for the Czech water sector. "From a hydrological point of view, we are said to be the roof of Europe, because we are dependent on what comes to us in the form of rain or snow," says Daniel Marton, head of the ÚVHK. The balance of precipitation in our territory was significantly negative from 2015 until mid-2020, when a significant drought episode occurred. "This rainfall deficit can very quickly turn to the opposite extreme, when extreme amounts of rain fall in a short period of time, triggering floods, " he adds.

The importance of the hydrological balance is also linked to the international Danube Water Balance project , in which Marton is involved. "There are two main objectives. The first is to create a single tool for analysing the hydrological balance of the entire Danube basin, and the second is to use the model to project the impacts of climate change. We are fortunate that one of the pilot areas in the project is the Morava River basin, to which the model is being applied."

The results will help organisations better understand the state of water resources and optimise their management. The EU-funded project brings together experts from 21 research institutions from all countries along the Danube basin. "The river knows no borders and therefore international cooperation is crucial, especially for projects that can influence the flow regime during droughts and floods," Marton stresses.

Numerical models refine flood control measures

Flood issues are dealt with at the BUT by Aleš Dráb, head of the Institute of Flood Management. For example, he is working on flood hazard, threat and risk maps, which are produced on the basis of numerical modelling of water flow and show the extent of flooded areas at different values of flood flows. "Usually a base set of flood flows is determined - most commonly five-year, twenty-year, hundred-year and quinquennial flows. These documents can then be followed by the design of appropriate flood protection measures," explains Dráb.

Klíčovou roli hrají tyto mapy v územním plánování – rozdělují území do kategorií s odpovídajícími stavebními omezeními. „Pomáhají zajistit, aby nové stavby v záplavových oblastech negativně neovlivnily odtokové poměry. K tomu se nejčastěji využívají numerické modely,“ říká Dráb s tím, že výstupy expertů vyžaduje například evropská legislativa nebo Vodní zákon.

These maps play a key role in spatial planning - they divide the territory into categories with corresponding building restrictions. "They help to ensure that new buildings in floodplains do not negatively affect runoff conditions. Numerical models are most often used for this purpose," says Dráb, adding that the experts' outputs are required, for example, by European legislation or the Water Act.

Experts use inputs from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ), which may change more dynamically than before due to climate change and more frequent weather fluctuations. "This variability needs to be taken into account not only when designing hydrotechnical structures, but also in the case of other types of structures near watercourses," says Dráb. "For flood protection measures, a safety margin above the design flood level must always be taken into account. Similar recommendations apply, for example, to bridge structures on watercourses."

These hydrological uncertainties can be handled by modern technology or artificial intelligence, which has been used at the BUT in this context for several decades - for example, in the form of fuzzy logic methods and neural networks, which allow working with uncertainty in data, learning from historical data and refining predictions. "At the BUT, one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence methods in water management and hydrology was Professor Miloš Starý," Marton points out. "He introduced them in the 1990s, when he returned from an internship in Denmark, where he first saw the use of artificial intelligence in a model of sewage network management."

The 2024 floods tested the measures in the Czech Republic

According to Marton, the top-notch work of the Czech Hydrological Monitoring Institute (ČHMÚ) contributed to the management of the 2024 floods.

According to Marton, the top-notch cooperation of the Czech Hydrological Institute, the basin companies and the rapid response of the state and local governments in the Czech Republic contributed to the management of the devastating floods in autumn 2024. The historically well-designed system of reservoirs also helped significantly. Thanks to timely rainfall forecasts and a quick declaration of a state of emergency, the measures were launched without delay. "The reservoirs began to be released on time, the forecast became more accurate and the first steps in the form of flood control measures were taken," he says.

Dráb, who is involved in the preparation of the 2024 flood assessment report, also has a positive view of flood management. The evaluation is not yet complete, he says, but it is already clear that the preparedness and forecasting functions have worked excellently, as have the activities of the IRS, the basin companies and the flood authorities. The flood protection measures had also performed well, he said. "Of course, there can always be some problems in such a complex situation, but overall I consider it to have been managed in all respects."

The assessment report itself is detailed and contains a number of chapters. It takes around six months to compile after the preliminary assessment report. "It assesses not only the causes of the flood, i.e. the factors leading to its occurrence, but also its course in terms of hydrology, the effectiveness of flood control measures and the activities of the flood authorities. It also includes an analysis of the damage caused by the flood," Dráb explained.

Challenges in building flood protection measures

According to Dráb, the Czech Republic has a well-established flood protection system, but the implementation of measures often faces problems in the form of settling property rights and meeting the requirements of nature conservation. "The settlement of property rights is quite complicated. Quite often, for example in the case of dry reservoirs, it happens that the measure is to be located in a different municipality than the one it is supposed to protect."

According to Marton, in the case of large strategic constructions, a path to implementation should always be sought. However, he also acknowledges that people's emotional attachments to their home tend to be very strong, which can complicate matters. "An example is the Chance Dam, where some people unfortunately could not bear the necessity to leave their homes," he mentions.

The construction of the Nové Heřmínovy dam in the Bruntál region, for example, is also linked to these problems. This has long been controversial because it means flooding part of the village of Nové Heřmínovy, which has provoked opposition from local residents and environmental organisations. "The importance of this dam for the whole flood protection system was calculated by Professor Starý and me in 2007 when I started my PhD studies. Even then we proved that the dam would protect the town of Krnov and the surrounding villages from floods," says Marton.

In spite of these difficulties, the preparation of flood protection measures continues. "There are a number of other solutions that will be implemented gradually and are in various stages of preparation," points out Dráb. As an example, he cites the Skalička hydroelectric dam, which would significantly contribute to the protection of the area along the Bečva River in the Přerov and Hranice regions, or the flood protection of the town of Kroměříž, which the Institute is working on.

The designers of flood protection measures are also often faced with complications related to the protection of cultural monuments. "In these locations, the main concern is that the measures do not disturb the character of the area. A good example is the flood wall at the Švihov Water Castle," says Dráb. A similar approach has also been applied in Prague, Třebíč, Český Krumlov and Terezín.

However, he warns that flood protection measures should meet the criteria of economic efficiency. In this context, it is more difficult to determine the value of heritage buildings and to quantify the damage adequately. "It is these aspects that we focus on - we assess the effectiveness of flood protection measures in the context of the site, estimate flood damage and assess their benefits on this basis," explains Dráb.

Lessons from floods shape experts

According to Dráb, education about floods and flood protection measures is still insufficient and should be aimed not only at experts but also at the general public. "Inaccurate information appears in the media and people without professional training often comment on the issue and their opinions are distorted. The more informed the public is, the better," he says. Although there are some awareness-raising activities, they are not systematic, in his opinion.

Universities can play a role in awareness-raising. Students at the BUT have seen how crucial these topics are in their lessons on meteorology, climatology and hydrology, using the 2024 floods as an example. "We were able to explain the causes of the floods while they were still fresh and to watch what was happening over Europe," Marton says.

At the same time, he says, this extreme phenomenon showed the importance of the water professions and the interconnectedness of their work. "It showed the whole process - from hydrological forecasts and modelling to the implementation of flood control measures - and that experts from the Czech Hydrological Institute, river basin companies, the state administration and private companies preparing construction projects are involved."

In the same breath, however, Marton adds that last year's floods unfortunately did not generate as much interest in the field as was needed. "A well-managed crisis situation is one that is noticed by as few people as possible. So the fact that the floods were well managed and did not cause as much damage as in the past also meant that student interest waned quickly."

You can't do it without water experts

A similar trend is observed by Dráb, at whose institute the knowledge from the recent floods is applied both in professional and scientific research student activities and directly in the courses Flood Protection and Assessment of NPP Siting Areas in terms of Flood, Climatic and Meteorological Phenomena, where he teaches students to analyse flood risks, their impacts and flood protection with an emphasis on economic, ecological and safety aspects.

He attributes the lack of interest in the topic to the overall decline in students in technical fields. "Many are now focusing on other specialisations, which also affects the construction industry. And it is here that some sub-specialities are more affected than others - water management is unfortunately one of the neglected ones," he says. Together with his colleagues, he tries to motivate high school students through various excursions, open days, lectures and educational programmes. "We want to introduce students to what is happening in water management and show them that it is a promising, interesting field, that it makes sense and that it is important for society."

According to both experts, the strength of the field is job security - the demand for graduates is not declining because there is still a shortage of specialists. And more will be needed in the future. "Water management is a key sector and part of critical infrastructure. The experienced generation is leaving and there are not enough young specialists. With the increasing frequency of extreme events, the demand for these professions will only increase," concludes Marton.

Author of the article: Mgr. Bc. Tereza Walsbergerová, Ph.D.