The protection of Prague against floods will be completed next year

Prague - The protection of Prague against flooding will be completed next year. Just last year, it was expected to be completed this October. However, discussions about the project are still ongoing in Troja. By the end of this year, Zbraslav, Radotín, and Chuchle should be protected against major floods, said Jiří Toman, the director of the city investment department of the magistrate, to ČTK.
Currently, areas in the central part of the metropolis from Modřany to Libeň and from Smíchov to Stromovka should withstand major floods due to barriers. A tender for the construction of barriers in the Zbraslav, Radotín, and Chuchle areas should be announced in March. According to Toman, the work could start in May.
The magistrate has around half a billion crowns allocated in this year's budget for the construction of barriers against major floods. "With great effort, it should be enough," Toman remarked. According to him, the magistrate will also request a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, which has a special program for these purposes.
One part of the flood barriers in Troja will be created in connection with the construction of the inner car ring road between Malovanka and Pelc-Tyrolka. The discussions are still ongoing regarding other sections of the dikes. According to Toman, representatives of the Troja town hall would like a road to be built on the dike, but the magistrate does not support this plan. "A solution is being sought," Toman added. These barriers in Troja could be completed by spring next year.
Radotín, Chuchle, and Troja will be protected against catastrophic floods from August 2002 with a thirty-centimeter reserve. At that time, the metropolis was hit by a once-in-five-hundred-years flood that caused damages amounting to 27 billion crowns in the city. In Zbraslav, the barriers will only protect against a one-hundred-year flood, with a reserve of 30 centimeters as well.
The magistrate has so far invested around two billion crowns in the construction of barriers. The flood protection measures consist of mobile barriers, earth embankments, various walls and structures, pumping stations, and also modifications to the sewage system. Even after the barriers are completed, there will be neighborhoods or individual houses in Prague that will remain between the river and the barriers. These include Lahovice and Lahovičky, Sedlec, and some buildings, for example, in Zbraslav, Radotín, and in Malá Strana, including the Sovovy mlýny.