New water management systems in the built-up areas of the Jesenik and Sumperk floodplains will have to take into account the current situation and the shape of the waterways, Environment Minister Petr Hladik (KDU-CSL) told journalists yesterday.
The Environment Ministry will prepare a study of these measures by next spring, which will be discussed in detail with local authorities. After his visit to Jesenik, Hladik said lessons should be learned from the September floods.
Catastrophic flooding hit the region in mid-September, causing billions in damage to property and infrastructure.
The Environment Ministry works with the Agriculture Ministry on water management measures.
Hladik said that experts have prepared simple maps of individual built-up areas, which clearly show the parts of the river which will retain their original shapes, as they worked well or no improvements are possible, and the parts which should be redesigned based on the evidence of the floods.
He said his ministry would prepare studies that should be ready by the beginning of the second quarter, which will be discussed in great detail with local governments. They should be followed by the resolution of other property law matters. Hladik, together with other ministers, said he had made it clear at the meeting in Jesenik, which was attended by representatives of local governments and companies, that the state was committed to continuing to build in active flood zones.
After the floods, the state offered to exchange or buy land in active flood zones. “We would like the land in active flood zones to be state land,” said Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura (ODS) yesterday. “This way, we will be able to keep an eye on the risks of new construction, new damage to possible buildings, and at the same time flood protection measures can be implemented on state land a little easier than if the property is municipal, regional or private.”
According to the mayor of Jesenik, Zdenka Blistanova (TOP 09), the adjustment of watercourse beds has been a source of attention among residents and municipal representatives since the floods.
