Flood safety in southern Poland is growing. Can we sleep peacefully?

For hundreds of thousands of Poles, September is a month of painful memories and fear. Can the disaster from a year ago happen again? Many actions are being taken to prevent it. Flood safety was the main topic of the Polish-Czech conference in Opole, and experts assure that the Racibórz Dolny reservoir remains in full readiness.

Polish-Czech cooperation is tightening

The experiences from September 2024 showed that flood protection must cover entire catchments, regardless of national borders. On Tuesday, September 16 this year, a conference was held in Opole with the participation of representatives of Polish Waters and the local government of the Opole region, as well as their Czech counterparts. The meeting also brought together representatives of uniformed and rescue services, as well as entrepreneurs.

The talks focused primarily on strengthening flood safety in the Oder river basin. Robert Węgrzyn, deputy marshal of the Opole region, suggested that upgrading the river to the rank of an international transport corridor would open the door to applying for greater funding for investments along the Oder. In his opinion, this should be a priority for both Poland and the Czech Republic.

Marcin Jarzyński, deputy president of Polish Waters, expressed appreciation toward the Czech side for the initiative to build the Nove Herminovy reservoir on the Opava river. The state-owned Povodi Odry company submitted an application for a construction permit this week, and the total budget of the project is estimated at 5 billion CZK (approx. 880 million PLN). Once completed, which is planned for 2033, the new reservoir will protect municipalities located in the lower reaches of the Opava, both in the Czech Republic and in Poland.

“We must cooperate and combine economic, social, business, and substantive competences,” emphasized Breislav Dancak, Ambassador of the Czech Republic.

The Racibórz reservoir effectively ensures flood safety

One of the infrastructural heroes of last year’s flood was undoubtedly the dry Racibórz Dolny reservoir, commissioned in 2020 after eight years of construction. The giant facility covers an area of 26 km² and is the largest reservoir of its kind in this part of Europe. Its total capacity is 185 million m³, which equals 74 Olympic-size swimming pools.

The Racibórz Dolny reservoir safeguards flood safety for areas stretching from Racibórz to Wrocław. Ultimately, after gravel is extracted from the dry reservoir bed, its capacity will increase to over 300 million m³, further boosting its flood protection potential.

Last year’s flood was a real test for the Racibórz reservoir, and it passed successfully. The facility retained 147 million m³ of water, filling up over the course of several days and then safely discharging the floodwaters. Although there were damages and a large accumulation of waste, representatives of Polish Waters assure that Racibórz Dolny is always ready to take on another surge.

How does the Racibórz reservoir work? An expert explains

On the anniversary of the catastrophic flood, Dominik Glenc, manager of the Racibórz Dolny reservoir, explained the facility’s operation in a podcast prepared by Polish Waters.

As a dry reservoir, Racibórz fills up only in emergency situations, which so far has happened twice: in 2020 and in 2024. The collected water flows in from two rivers, the Oder and the Olza, which merge in the Buków polder located 10 km downstream. In case of warnings about rising waters on the Czech and Polish side, the reservoir’s management team opens the gates and activates the pumping stations.

The entire water retention procedure is carefully supervised and controlled, so as not to allow premature filling of the reservoir or unwanted filtration of water into the dam body. This is a real challenge not only for the infrastructure itself, but also for the people operating it.