Olomouc will finally receive extensive flood prevention measures after years

OLOMOUC - The Morava River Basin Authority will soon undertake significant flood control measures in Olomouc, which was affected by catastrophic floods eight years ago. This will involve the construction of a diversion channel on the Morava River, designed to prevent or limit damage during floods. Once completed, the riverbed should withstand a flood event with a return period of up to three hundred years. The construction will cost 370 million crowns.
According to the spokesperson of the Morava River Basin Authority, Dana Meissnerová, this is one of the largest investments of the Authority. "This marks the beginning of extensive structural modifications to the Morava River in the area of the city of Olomouc, aimed at preventing or minimizing damage caused by flood events," she told ČTK today. For the first phase, a section of the Morava in the southern part of the city has been selected. In the area of the existing weir, a diversion channel over half a kilometer in length has been proposed, which will increase the overall flow in this section to 650 cubic meters per second.
"The channel, which will be 12 meters wide, will also include a new weir structure that will maintain the water level at the same height as the existing weir in the main riverbed. To ensure fish migration, a fish pass has also been proposed in the area of the new weir," noted the spokesperson.
Flood control measures will also change transport in this section of the city. The existing bridge over the Morava, which is in an unsatisfactory condition, will be dismantled and replaced with a new one. It will connect to roads with two roundabouts linking Wittgensteinova, Holická, Tovární, and Babíčkova streets.
The initiation of flood control measures has also been welcomed by the leadership of the Olomouc city hall. "This is very important, but from our perspective, it is just the beginning. The main tasks will come in the subsequent phases. I am primarily referring to the reconstruction of bridges over the Morava and Bystřička rivers and the deepening of the riverbed," said Deputy Mayor Jaromír Czmero to ČTK today.
The construction will be financed from state funds, with the state covering 50 percent of the costs from the European Investment and Development Bank. The region will also participate with 180 million crowns, and the Olomouc city council will contribute eight million crowns.
According to experts, the channel should at least partially divert possible influxes of water, lower the level of the Morava, and prevent flooding of certain streets.