Component 2 - Flood Protection of the Kłodzko Valley
Component 2 is designed to protect against floods the city of Kłodzko and other small towns and villages in the Kłodzko Valley downstream to the town of Bardo at the outlet of the valley.
The investments include the following:
- construction of four mid-sized dry polders,
- rehabilitation and repair of some sections of existing bank protections in developed areas,
- rehabilitation of existing retaining walls or construction of new sections (at places where it is necessary to protect developed areas),
- rehabilitation of existing river training structures aimed at increasing the carrying capacity of bridges and footbridges, weirs, and barrages, including improved fish passage conditions – conversion to river riffles,
- increasing the carrying capacity of river channels,
- and construction of floating debris barriers.
All works necessary to be carried out are divided into the following two Subcomponents:
2.A – Active protection
The scope of active protection includes construction of four dry polders. Their task is to reduce flood peaks and flows, which will result in reducing flood risk in the river valleys in which they are situated, indirectly also flood risk from the Nysa Kłodzka River and therefore in the entire Kłodzko Valley. Currently, the number and capacity of the flood reservoirs in the Kłodzko Valley are insufficient and in order to protect the Kłodzko Valley against flood, it is necessary to undertake measures increasing active protection in this area.
2.B – Passive protection
The proposed scope includes flood protection activities in the following urbanized areas of the Kłodzko Land: Duszniki-Zdrój, Szczytna, Polanica-Zdrój, Stronie Śląskie, Lądek-Zdrój, Międzylesie, Długopole-Zdrój, Bystrzyca Kłodzka, and Kłodzko. These works are designed to restore the functionality of river training infrastructure and adapt it to the so-called bankfull flow, which is contained within the existing river and stream channels. As a result of the planned works, the level of protection of the above-mentioned developed areas will substantially increase.
Component 2 is implemented in the Kłodzko Valley area that includes the mountain and highland part of the Nysa Kłodzka River sub-basin. The activities planned to be implemented are associated with improvement of flood defenses protecting the population and developed areas.
Flood risk in the Kłodzko Valley area is primarily due to the insufficient carrying capacity of the river and stream beds as well as of transport infrastructure, an insufficient number of flood reservoirs, an insufficient number and height of flood embankments, as well as a high density of buildings in areas directly adjacent to the watercourse channels. In many cases, existing flood control infrastructure is also in poor technical condition.
The watercourses in the Kłodzko Land represent mountain and sub-mountain types and are characterized by rigid, stone or gravel bed and high water velocities. In total, over a dozen right- and left-bank tributaries, carrying waters from the mountain areas surrounding the Nysa Kłodzka depression, feed into the Nysa Kłodzka River flowing through the central part of the Kłodzko Valley.
Such a river network system determines the nature of flood events in this area – a fast increase in water level in the watercourses and hence the formation of a flood wave and its peak discharge in the mouth sections of the rivers.
High nature value areas, which are legally protected, are concentrated in the mountain areas surrounding the Kłodzko Valley. Only in one case the planned investment is located in a legally protected river channel section (a Natura 2000 site and partially a landscape park) due to the occurrence of valuable plant communities and fish species there.
Moreover, the towns included in Subcomponent 2B are the region’s most important population centers as well as its industrial and economic centers. There are also towns and villages that have the spa status and perform an important role as centers of sanatorium and tourism activities. They are also locations of important historical, religious, and nature sites. It should also be taken into account that these towns are located along the region’s main transport routes and perform an important role in the creation of economic potential and social services in this part of Lower Silesian Voivodeship.
