Examination of flood retention areas Elbe

Flood retention areas in Pilsen Region:
Within the scope of the project LABEL, the Pilsen Region ordered to elaborate the territorial analysis: „Analysis of the retention potential of the Pilsen Region area“.  The general contractor of the project is Institute for Regional Information.
By the encounter of the rivers Úslava, Úhlava, Radbuza and Mže arises the river Berounka, which shapes almost all the territory of the Pilsen region. Only the district Sušice is drained by the river Otava. There are a lot of reservoirs in this region, the most important are: Hracholusky, Nýrsko and Klabava.

The aims of the territorial analysis:

• the evaluation of natural retention conditions of this area;
• the evaluation of retention potential of existing reservoirs and also areas suitable and protected for the accumulation of surface moisture;
• the assessment of already realized preventive protections against floods including regulated flooding;
• balance of accumulation degree of surface water in catchment area.

Decision procedure:
The new 23 protected areas for surface moisture accumulation (PASMA) were located in Development Principles of Pilsen Region (DPPR), which determine priority and requirements of spatial planning.
Beside the already realized areas, 28 other suitable areas are considered.

The expert system LABELEX was developed as a support of the analysis which handles defined objects and their characteristics. The system enables changes simulation in retention potential of this area, considering the changing conditions of natural retention and new reservoirs placements.

Benefits of analysis:

• Basis for development of updated principles
• Basis for territorial planning and similar activities of the Pilsen region and municipalities
• Condition settings for improvement of water management in landscape  water supplying in cases of insufficiency; securing of water drain in cases of extreme rainfalls.

Summary of the study

Review of flood retention areas, evaluation of risks resulting from floods and pollutants and recommendations for adapted usages

The „Elbe corridor“ is considered to be the observation area, that means flood plains and flood-endangered regions by the Elbe as well as in the estuary zone of the tributaries, in the entire cooperation area of the Communal Joint Venture from 7 counties in Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, and Saxony-Anhalt.

 To begin with, restrictions on use and risks regarding a standardized evaluation for the observation area and utilization alternatives to be derived therefrom are shown in a first part. A second part of the survey will review the condition of the flood retention areas, their present and potential future dimensioning, the technical safety measures, in particular of dikes, polders and retention areas. In particular, the following tasks will be realized:

• Presentation of existing and potential flood retention areas and their dimensioning
• Description of function and usages in the shown areas
• Presentation of the existing essential risks of utilization and of the utilization restrictions under special consideration of the pollution by floods
• Deriving of utilization possibilities in the shown areas including the nature conservation related marginal conditions and development ideas
• Deriving of recommendations for adapted utilizations including utilization alternatives as contribution to the regional concept „Lower Middle Elbe“  

Final Report: (german version only)