VTEI / 2023

Possibilities of wastewater treatment using an experimental device for physical action by an electrostatic field with a focus on pharmaceuticals

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As a result of climate change and the world´s population growth, ensuring sufficient amount of water is expected to be an increasing problem. There is a growing need for eco-technologies with reduced water consumption, for the use of harvested rainwater, as well as reuse of wastewater.
Currently there are millions of known chemicals, and more and more are being synthesized every day. The chemization of various branches of industry leads to the increasing massive contamination of our environment with foreign substances.
This paper presents the possibilities of rebuilding experimental laboratory equipment for the physical processing of waste into an equipment able to apply electrostatic field action on wastewater. It also considers the possibilities and perspectives of its further use, either alone or in combination with other technological processes, e.g. biotechnologies. The first series of experimental trials was aimed at eliminating selected pharmaceuticals.

Wastewater analysis as a tool for investigating drug abuse in education institutes

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The wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) approach to wastewater has long been used for monitoring drug consumption, especially in urban agglomerations. In this pilot project, it was applied to detect drug use in selected educational establishments. The tests took place in both primary (age 6–15) and secondary schools (age 12–19). The focus was on illicit drugs (marijuana, methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine, and ecstasy), as well as the licit drug nicotine and its metabolites. Ephedrine was also monitored. Grab samples were taken before the start of classes between 7:30 and 8:05 a.m., and during the so-called big break, i.e., between 9:30 and 10:00 a.m., or 10:30–11:00 a.m.
Sampling was carried out on two dates, at the beginning of June and at the end of September/beginning of October 2022. There were positive find-ings for THC, ephedrine, methamphetamine and nicotine metabolites, primarily trans-3-hydroxy-cotinine. In accordance with the possibilities of the pilot project, the number of monitored schools was very small. In order to objectively determine the situation in educational facilities, it would be appropriate to monitor a more representative group, which would include, for example, vocational schools. It is also worth considering another method of sampling wastewater, e.g., several hours’ composite samples. However, in many educational institutions, this method may not be feasi-ble.

Methods of collection and management of biodegradable municipal waste in selected countries of the European Union and current results from moisture loss measurements

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The ever-increasing amount of waste, including biological waste, is causing serious problems in modern society, such as the filling of municipal waste landfills, which subsequently produce greenhouse gases. For society to deal with this problem, the legislation of some member states of the European Union (EU), including the Czech Republic (CR), has introduced new obligations to support the prevention of waste generation and its increased recycling and reuse. In 2020, the European Commission released the Circular Economy Action Plan, which provides guidelines for many countries on renewables and waste. However, in some cases the current measures are not enough. A new law on waste was adopted in the Czech Republic, which specifies the obligation to sort biological waste for legal entities and natural persons who allow physical persons to dispose of municipal waste in their establishments.
This article brings the current interim results of research project SS02030008 “Centre of Environmental Research: Waste Management, Circu-lar Economy and Environmental Security (CEVOOH)”. It deals with a brief description of biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) collection in some EU countries and draws general conclusions from the facts found. It also deals with the current results of measuring the moisture loss of biological waste in order to fulfil the obligation of the Czech Republic to report the quantity of this waste in its “fresh” state.

Development of land use and impact on water resources of hydrogeological unit 4232 Ústecká syncline in the Svitava river basin

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The research area of hydrogeological unit 4232 Ústecká Syncline in the Svitava river basin (Ústecká synklinála v povodí Svitavy) is an important area of underground drinking water sources. These resources are of the highest quality and among the most abundant resources in the entire Czech Republic. The development of land use is closely connected with the development of settlements and industry (textile) in the research area, which in their importance far exceeded the borders of the region. Gradual development created pressure on natural resources, especially water; the demands on the quantity of service and drinking water increased, while the quality of water was affected by industrial and agricultural pollution. Despite the observed decrease in population in the last twenty to thirty years, we can see the expansion of settlements, mainly due to new construction on agri-cultural land, which is slightly compensated by the expansion of permanent grasslands and forests. With regard to current and future climate change, this increase, together with a slight increase in water bodies, can be considered as a positive phenomenon.

Use of effect-based methods to assess surface water status

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This article deals with the use of effect-based methods for the qualitative assessment of the state of surface waters in the context of Directive 2000/60/EC establishing the framework for Community activity in the field of water policy and the upcoming amendment to Directive 2008/105/EC on environmental quality standards. The implemented monitoring of priority substances and specific pollutants is not able to capture all sources of pollution that negatively affect surface water quality. Likewise, current practice does not allow a comprehensive assessment of mixtures, including emergent pollutants, metabolites, and transformation products of substances on water quality. Effect-based methods are a suitable tool for ecotoxi-cological evaluation of pollution, which considers all substances contained in the sample and possible effects of mixtures (synergistic effects). They thus provide important additional information for the results of the assessment of the state of surface water bodies.

Interview with prof. Ing. Pavel Pech, CSc., professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

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the future be over water rather than oil and land? Why is he more afraid of genes than climate change? And is it better to build dams and large water reservoirs, or establish ponds, wetlands, and pools? What is his opinion on artificial intelligence? These are just some of the topics that I discussed with prof. Ing. Pavel Pech, CSc., long-time head of the Department of Water Resources and Environmental Modeling at the Czech University of Life Sciences (CULS). “I’m from Hnojárna,”* he says about himself with a smile, and it does not sound pejorative at all – after all, he is the founder of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at CULS in Prague.

Looking back at the National Dialogue on Water 2023

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After a four-year break caused by the covid pandemic, the National Dialogue on Water took place on 25–26th October 2023, this time in the Skalský Dvůr hotel in Vysočina. The event was organized by the T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute, p. r. i. (hereinafter TGM WRI) in coop-eration with the Czech Scientific and Technological Water Management Company (Česká vědeckotechnická vodohospodářská společnost, z. s.) The main theme of the event was a comprehensive approach to the protection of drinking water sources. This topic was addressed by a large number of experts from the field of water management (118 participants), whether it was representatives of the Ministry of the Environment (MoE), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Ministry of Health, state-owned River Basin State Enterprises, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI), water authorities, operators of water supply and sewerage systems (VaK), mayors, private companies, hydrogeologists, and others.

Kozmice bird meadows and their importance for nature and landscape

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Alluvial wetlands and alluvial meadows (often referred to as “wet” in the literature) are one of the types of habitats that, with the gradual develop-ment of the cultural landscape, suffered the greatest transformation and often complete disappearance; in the Czech Republic, the most significant transformation by the transfer to field crops together with land improvement peaked roughly in the 1970s. Discussions about the importance of wetlands have, however, been revived in different periods; the factors that trigger these discussions are mainly floods and drought, which is clearly indicated by the drought that started in 2015. In their name, alluvial wetlands and meadows indicate that they are situated in a river landscape and are in periodic or constant contact with the surface water of larger rivers and groundwater, including the hyporeal. It is therefore obvious that these landscape elements are at least locally important for the cycle of water and chemical substances in the river landscape.

Direct monitoring of water vapor from the free water level of the Vavřinecký pond and its influence on the hydrological balance

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With increased average air temperature, there is an increase in water vapour from a water surface. Between 2020 and 2022, evaporation from the water surface was observed with a floating evaporimeter at Vavřinecký pond in the Central Bohemian region. A floating evaporimeter monitors evaporation from the water surface along with basic meteorological quantities directly on the surface of the water reservoir, so its results should be more accurate than calculations based on data from nearby meteorological stations. The results show that in all three years evaporation exceeded precipitation by more than 100 mm between April and September. However, the issue of the influence of small water reservoirs on the hydrological balance is a very complex topic, where the assessment of negative and positive effects is not always black and white and requires detailed investiga-tion.

Drought warning system and local threshold limits

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Droughts and floods are extreme hydrological phenomena that are currently increasing in frequency due to the growing impact of climate change, and can have significant effects on our lives. Within the “PERUN” research project, an assessment of drought conditions and their development in the Czech Republic is being developed, along with the innovation of the warning system by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI). Drought is a natural phenomenon characterized by a gradual onset, long duration, and low dynamics, which requires a specific approach. The amendment to the Water Act introduces the obligation of regular reporting on drought and the establishment of a predictive service to be conducted by CHMI. Tools are being developed for long-term prediction of water resource conditions and a methodology for drought and water scarcity management plans. These plans aim to ensure water supply, protect the environment, and minimize the economic impacts. The decision-making body for issuing measures based on the drought plans is the Drought Commission, which operates at the regional level. The warning information is available on the HAMR web portal, which also displays local threshold limits for individual water resources.

Protected areas for surface water accumulation from a hydrogeologist’s the point of view – the effect of possible realization of surface water accumulation on hydrogeological conditions

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Suitable areas for the accumulation of surface water have been defined in the Czech Republic, potentially serving mainly for the supply of potable water and for mitigating the adverse effects of floods and drought. The sites are listed in the General Scheme on the Accumulation of Surface Water, which was obtained by the Ministries of Agriculture and the Environment following the previous long-term territorial protection of prospective water reservoirs. Before any decision to build these reservoirs, it is necessary to assess the project from various points of view. This article presents an evaluation of selected sites from a hydrogeological point of view. Among other things, it deals with the analysis of the location of potential res-ervoirs in the hydrogeological environment, the effect on the quantity and quality of groundwater, and the potential impact on the used groundwater resources. After the construction of the reservoirs, the groundwater level of the shallow aquifer will rise, and consequently, groundwater storage will also increase. However, it is necessary to assess the sites individually; there are often potentially negative effects of future reservoirs on groundwater.

Study of stream morphological changes and its application in the design of environmentally acceptable channels

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Climatic change is manifested in a number of places by significantly spatially localized torrential rainfall with a short duration, but with great inten-sity. One of the expected consequences of this type of precipitation is the occurrence of flash floods, characterized by a sharp rise from the value of the normal flow to the value of the peak flow and a rapid decrease again. The consequence of this type of short episodic floods is the initiation of morphological transformations in the beds of smaller and medium upland streams, often with devastating effects for the section of the watercourse channel. The article summarizes research on the formation and development of a scour hole in the section at the transition from a lined riverbed with fixed bed and banks to the riverbed with loose channel boundry which can be transformed morphologically in an uncontrolled manner. In this re-search, the main attention was paid to the formulation of a parametric model of the scour hole morphological development at the transition between a lined and an unlined channel. The results of this model can be used both to understand the hydraulic-morphological processes that occur at the site of a sudden river bed change, and for the practical design of restoration modifications to the river bed at the transition from a fully lined to an un-lined river bed without any protective measures, approaching the original pristine conditions.

Will summer flows in watercourses be a half lower by 2060?

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The increase in potential evapotranspiration due to warming is quite often used as an indicator of ongoing and predicted changes in the hydrological balance. However, without assessing its effect in basins with different precipitation regimes, it is not correct to consider a change in potential evapo-transpiration as an increase in actual evapotranspiration or a decrease in runoff.

Interview with RNDr. Radim Tolasz, Ph.D., climatologist of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute

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Today, one individual cannot quickly mitigate the current impact of climate change that the entire world is facing by changing their behaviour. However, the promotion and spread of education is one of the main keys to making positive changes in a significant part of the population. In an interview for VTEI, the Czech representative in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), climatologist RNDr. Radim Tolasz, Ph.D., from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI), describes further steps to mitigate the effects of climate change or, for example, his own first professional experience after 1980.

„Water Centre“

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The research project of the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic SS02030027 „Water systems and water management in the Czech Republic in conditions of climate change“, whose guarantor is the Ministry of the Environment, tries to answer the question of whether we will continue to have enough quality water. Climate change and the associated drought, as well as human behaviour and demands threaten water, and solutions must be sought for the immediate future.

The influence of wastewater on microbial contamination of the Vltava below Prague

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In terms of public health protection, the most important indicator in surface water monitoring is microbial fecal contamination. Despite the introduc-tion of the best available technologies, their biggest source is treated and untreated municipal wastewater. Around 90 % of the Czech population use their local sewerage system, which is linked to a WWTP, treated, and discharged into recipient waters. Monitoring of microbial contamination of the Vltava below Prague CWWTP showed a level of fecal pollution in the 10 km section below the wastewater inflow in periods with different flow rates. Smaller tributaries of the Vltava, which bring treated wastewater from local WWTPs to the Vltava, were monitored as additional sources. From April 2022 to March 2023, the amount of Escherichia coli, enterococci, thermotolerant coliform bacteria, and Clostridium perfringens were monitored at ten sampling sites. The monitoring results showed relatively significant microbial pollution of the Vltava from Prague CWWTP dis-charge and, at the same time, the river’s substantial self-cleaning ability in the following section. This creates good potential for the river’s future utilization in the monitored area, with the exception of the section directly affected by the inflow of treated wastewater from Prague CWWTP. This study could be used to raise public awareness in order to minimize the health risk caused by the river’s inappropriate utilization (possible presence of pathogenic microorganisms, including carriers of antimicrobial resistance).

Application for the parametrization and automatic running of the HEC-HMS rainfall-runoff model

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This article presents an application developed in the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) to support hydrologic modelling using the HEC-HMS model as the primary used rainfall-runoff model. The application enables group editing of selected parameters of the model schematiza-tion, automatic running of simulations, display of selected simulation results, and communication of the HEC-HMS
model with GIS and other selected models, e.g., HEC-RAS or MIKE 11. The application is designed to use only freeware and open source libraries and is capable of operating under both Windows OS and UNIX/Linux OS. This article briefly describes the current state of the application devel-opment and its functionality, even for readers without major IT background. Further development is outlined in the last part of the article. Further development of the application is aimed at higher support for hydraulic modelling at the level of communication between the HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS models, as well as at the level of automatic parameterization and launching of the HEC-RAS model and its communication with other tools, e.g. hydraulic model MIKE 11 or GIS post-processing of the results.

Atmospheric deposition as a possible source of surface water pollution (Results of the project, part 2. – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)

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From October 2020 to September 2021, in two forest micro-catchments in the Czech Republic, the quality of wet atmospheric deposition (bulk and throughfall) was monitored simultaneously with the surface water quality in the local watercourse, humus, and the moss species Pleurozium schreberi. An evaluation is presented of the 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) burden of the above-mentioned matrices. The first site was chosen in the Beskid Mountains in the Moravian-Silesian region, in the cadastre of the village of Bystřice in the upper basin of the Suchý stream (altitude 590 to 835 m a.s.l.). This area is affected by industrial activities. The second reference site was chosen in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands near Košetice observatory (altitude 520 m a.s.l.).

Development of pond locations in the Polabí lowland since the mid-19th century – part 2 – Poděbrady region

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This article presents the results of research on landscape changes in the Poděbrady region as part of the Polabí lowland, where there have been significant changes in the location of ponds. The area of all types of ponds (according to stability) makes up 3.17 % of the Poděbrady region. Ac-cording to their occurrence in the area in 1836/1852–2022, the ponds (or their parts) were divided into disappeared, continuous, and new. Disap-peared ponds have the largest representation – about 60 % of the total pond area according to stability. They are followed by continuous ponds, with the minimum area represented by new ponds. The historical or (more precisely) disappeared ponds were more robust than the present ones, i.e., they had a larger average size. Analyses show that almost three-quarters of the disappeared ponds have been replaced by arable land.

Wastewater based epidemiology, determination of selected illicit drugs and Covid-19 pandemic

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The World Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak of a global health emergency on 30th January 2020 and a pandemic caused by Covid-19 in March of the same year. In our paper, we tried to find out if and how this situation affected drug consumption from the perspective of wastewater analysis. We compared the results of weekly sampling events from 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, which took place at approximately the same period of the year, but in 2020, 2021, and 2022 were affected by the state of emergency and other pandemic-related measures. We monitored the concentration of selected drugs – THC, methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine, and some of their metabolites (amphetamine and benzoylecgonine) in wastewater samples taken at the inflow to wastewater treatment plants. According to our measurements, virtually all monitored drugs experienced changes in their consumption.

Fundamental revision of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive provokes conflicting reactions from European Union member states

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Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21st May 1991, the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (UWWTD), entered into force 32 years ago, which is a respectable age for a legal regulation. Since then, through the consistent implementation of its requirements, good results in water protection have been achieved in practice. Between 1990 and 2014, there was a reduction in the amount of pollutants in treated and discharged urban waste water for organic pollution expressed as BOD5 by 61 %, for total nitrogen by 32 %, and for total phosphorus by 44 %. The extensive support pro-vided to cities and municipalities from EU financial instruments as well as from national sources and the relatively strict application of sanctions have led, according to data published by the European Commission (EC), to the fact that currently 98 % of waste water in the EU is effectively collected and removed of and 92 % properly treated. Until now, the Directive’s requirements have primarily focused on centralized systems for the collection, removal, and treatment of waste water in agglomerations producing loads at the level of 2,000 population equivalent (PE) and more.

Graphical use of AI

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In the June VTEI issue, we got familiar with the AI tool ChatGPT in the form of an “interview”. We continue with the topic of artificial intelligence and this time we present experiences with a more “visual” tool. Our intention was to create different visualizations of the situation using text input, the so-called “prompt”, or from a master photo, for example a watercourse restoration or the idea of building a water tower in the country-side. But before we get to the visualizations themselves, let us say a few words about this topic.

Native versus invasive crayfish in the Czech Republic

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A decrease in species diversity is a negative consequence of many human activities. The number of native animal and plant species is decreas-ing, their populations are shrinking or completely disappearing, the number of endangered species is increasing, and non-native species are spreading. Global problems are perhaps most evident in the example of freshwater ecosystems.
Invasions of non-native species, associated with high cultural-sociological and economic losses, are currently considered one of the most sig-nificant factors in the decline of species diversity. For these reasons, the issue of non-native species is receiving considerable attention world-wide.
There are currently six species of crayfish living in the wild in the Czech Republic, of which only two are native: noble crayfish (Astacus asta-cus) and stone crayfish (Austropotamobius torrentium). Narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) is a European species but not native to the Czech Republic. Other species – signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), spiny-cheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus), and marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax) come from North America and are invasive species [1, 3].

Assessment of trends in concentrations of chemical and physico-chemical indicators of the status of surface water bodies

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This article presents the results of trend assessment of selected chemical and physicochemical indicators of surface water status. The assessment approach is based on a similar procedure for assessing significant upward trends of pollutants and trend reversals in groundwater bodies. The procedure is based on measured concentrations from 2010 to 2018 and estimates concentrations at the end of 2021, 2024, and 2027. For the trend assessment, data from Czech river basin state enterprises were used to assess the ecological status/potential and the chemical status of surface water bodies. However, only part of the profiles with measured concentrations met the time series requirements. The assessment of trends towards the end of 2024 and 2027 shows that some indicators (polyaromatic hydrocarbons, adsorbable organically bound halogens – AOX, and nitrate nitrogen) are projected to improve compared to the status as of 2018. On the other hand, a slight deterioration is predicted for biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved nickel, and ammonia nitrogen.

Juvenile fish assemblages – appropriate tool for monitoring of the ecological status

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Aquatic organisms have a very good ability to reflect the conditions of the environment they live in and, therefore, they are often used to assess the ecological status of that particular environment. of juvenile fish assemblages (0+) represent an appropriate tool for monitoring the ecological status of watercourses as they show a very rapid response to changes in environmental conditions. The goal of this study was to assess assemblages of juvenile fish (0+) at 22 sites across the Czech Republic between 2019 and 2021.

Factors affecting the cost of drinking water production

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The article summarizes the findings of a statistical analysis of the cost of drinking water production in the Czech Republic in 2018. Understanding the factors that influence the cost of drinking water production is important for choosing a cost-effective public drinking water supply system. We present the first study analysing the factors affecting the cost of drinking water production in the Czech Republic. We tested the following factors for their influence on the production costs of drinking water: the quantity of drinking water produced, the type of raw water (surface vs. groundwater), electricity consumption, and the treatment technologies and chemicals applied. The results suggested that drinking water production from groundwater was cheaper than from surface water. At the same time, some water treatment technologies and usage of some treatment technologies and chemicals increase production costs. The use of sodium hypochlorite, chlorine and demanganisation have the greatest impact on production costs. We have also confirmed economies of scale in the production of drinking water.

Development of pond locations in the Polabí lowland since the mid-19th century – part 1 – Pardubice region

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This article focuses on mapping the development of the lowland landscape over the last 180 years, related to pressures to use lowland areas for economic purposes, including transformation of wetland habitats (specifically ponds) into arable land.  The Polabí lowland was chosen as the study area because it is currently affected by a lack of water and there is an occurrence of seasonal drying up of small watercourses. This issue will probably be of greater significance in the future, particularly in the context of the expected continued extreme climatic phenomena. Within the Polabí lowland, the results from the Pardubice region (where the biggest change in pond locations occur) are presented here. The area of all types of ponds (according to their stability) makes up 6.83 % of the study area. According to their occurrence from the Second Military Mapping (1836–1852) up to 2022, the ponds were divided into disappeared, continuous, and new. Disappeared ponds have the largest representation – about two-thirds of the total pond area according to stability. They are followed by continuous ponds, and the smallest area is represented by new ponds. The historical, or more precisely, disappeared ponds were more robust than the present ones, i.e., they had a larger average size. Analyses show that almost half of the disappeared ponds have been replaced by arable land.

Optimization network model of water management systems

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The paper describes software aimed at analysing water management infrastructure and identifying critical points for water supply and assessing possible measures aimed at optimising the water supply function of the water management system. The computational procedures integrate the evaluation of the hydrological characteristics of the area, the parameters of the water management and water supply systems and the water supply requirements. The solution uses graph theory and network flow optimization (out-of-kilter algorithm is applied). The program is implemented as a PC application and equipped with a user interface.

Interview with Mgr. Petr Hladík, Minister of the Environment

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The Minister of the Environment wants to give people the opportunity to live in harmony with nature, and by that he does not mean just planting trees on city streets. Why does Petr Hladík call the Ministry of the Environment the Ministry of the Future? The use of rainwater, solar panels, and deposit PET bottles no longer have to represent an excessively progressive approach, but a standard for returning to our planet at least the minimum of what we take from it. Grey water subsidies? Why should we want it and what will we actually benefit from it? The new Minister of the Environment, Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL), answers these questions for VTEI journal.

AI – our first interview

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The idea of interviewing artificial intelligence was brought to us by an article from a completely different field than our water management. However, we also had the idea to test the current level of artificial intelligence on topics that are close to our field. Based on examples of questions and generated answers, you can judge for yourself how useful this tool is in water management. The structure of the questions is built from the simplest to the most complicated in the form of comments on the results of forecasting models, or the effectiveness and efficiency of legal regulations and directives. ChatGPT was chosen for communication. However, if one does not try this tool, one has no idea what it is; it is then up to you to assess the interview itself.

Technical Heritage of the Elbe-Vltava Waterway

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From 8th November 2022 to 31st January 2023, an exhibition entitled “Technical Heritage of the Elbe-Vltava Waterway” took place in the atrium of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague (CTU). The exhibition included exhibition panels, an interactive model of a weir lock, a video projection screen, and a stand with a web application www.lvvc.cz. The exhibition mapped the history and development of this 324 km waterway since the beginning of the 19th century, and it is expected to continue as a travelling exhibition.

Landscape changes in selected locations of the Polabí lowlands with a focus on wetlands

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This article presents three typologically different sites from Polabí where large-scale wetland sites were located in the past, including ponds. These sites were chosen in order to present disappeared floodplain meadows, disappeared “field” wetlands, disappeared ponds or pond systems, and, simultaneously, to present sites where wetland habitats have been at least partially restored. The main aim was to present easily accessible archival maps, on the basis of which it is possible to assess the spatio-temporal dynamics of wetland habitats in the places of disappeared wetlands with regard to their possible restoration.

Multi-Criteria Analysis of the Dyje basin

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This article deals with applications of the specific method of multicriteria analysis (MCA) and its use in the identification of areas within the Czech Republic where adaptation measures to the consequences of climate change would be most effective. MCA was chosen due to its comprehensive approach and the simplicity of working with available data in the Czech Republic. The first MCA have already been applied in the Pilsen and Pardubice Regions within the framework of the creation of the strategic document Regional Strategy of Adaptation Measures (Regionální strategie adaptačních opatření, ReSAO), whose aim was to assess the vulnerability of the entire area of these regions. The results from both strategies are expedient from the point of view of drafting adaptation measures, and it was therefore decided to use MCA as part of a larger project in the Dyje basin. In the first phase, the implemented analyses were evaluated to improve MCA for the studied area. In the second phase, MCA was applied to the area of agricultural land. Several thematic indicators were evaluated, namely surface drainage, land use, erosion risk, and occurrence of erosion events. The aim was to focus on IV order basins, in which the priority of implementing measures on agricultural land is the highest. The result was a list of IV order basins with a partial and summary assessment of problems within the total studied area of the Dyje basin.

Agroforestry and its effect on the complex of hydropedological properties of the soil

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The aim of this article is to evaluate landscape retention capacity based on the use of soil protection technology at the chosen site and to compare selected hydropedological characteristics in the context of land management. Therefore, broken and intact soil samples are taken regularly and laboratory analyses are carried out. The chosen site is located in the Šardice cadastral area, Hodonín district, South Moravian region. At the chosen site it is possible to consider grass strips with one or more rows of trees as a possible agroforestry system, where temperature and humidity are measured continuously by TOMST TMS-4 moisture sensors. The results show that the way land is used and cultivated has an impact on hydropedological properties of the land. We can influence them both positively and negatively.

(Inter)nationality of VTEI journal

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V článku je popsána analýza národní orientace časopisu Vodohospodářské technicko-ekonomické informace (VTEI) pomocí bibliometrického indikátoru Index Národní Orientace (INO). Tato analýza navazuje na citační analýzu provedenou v roce 2022. Na základě údajů o publikovaných článcích se vypočítává Index Národní Orientace Publikujících autorů (INO-P). Pro citace časopisu VTEI v databázi Scopus se vypočítává Index Ná-rodní Orientace Citujících autorů (INO-C).

Interview with Michal Broža, head of the UN Information Centre in the Czech Republic

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Michal Broža was born on 13 May 1965 in Sušice. He graduated from Charles University in Prague and also studied at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Since 1995, he has worked at the UN in various positions. Since 2004, he has been the head of the UN Information Centre in Prague. He participated in missions in Africa and working stays in the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East. He also
worked as a World Bank consultant and researcher in the private sector. He specializes in UN issues, communication of global risks and megatrends. He is the author and co-author of publications and articles related to these areas, and he also gives lectures.

Subsidies from the Operational Programme Environment 2021–2027

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On 15 December 2022, calls from the Operational Programme Environment (OPE) 2021–2027 were finally launched for projects in the field of nature conservation and landscape protection, which will be financed through the so-called simplified reporting methods (hereinafter SRM). Simplifying the administration of subsidies was one of the main requirements of the European Commission, which it set as mandatory for all projects with total expenditures of up to EUR 200,000.

Planned restoration of aquatic ecosystems in Prague 4

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Prague 4 district in accordance with the National Action Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change [1], Concept for Protection from the Effects of Drought of the Czech Republic [2], Strategy for Adaptation of the Capital City of Prague to Climate Change [3] and Methodology for Rainwater Management in the City [4, 5], similarly to other progressive-minded parts of Prague, is preparing investment actions to support and strengthen green-blue infrastructure in the city. One of the most visible measures with truly demonstrable effects on the support of biodiversity and water retention in the landscape is the restoration of aquatic ecosystems. In the case of the capital city of Prague and its most populous district of Prague 4, these are mainly the restoration of canalized (straightened or piped) streams, or desilting, strengthening or comprehensive restoration of ponds and small water reservoirs in a highly urbanized landscape. A specific area is newly emerging bodies of water in places where water naturally tends to be retained after longer periods of rainfall and the area thus cannot be used for any other purpose, or even in places where there was no body of water before (although here in the narrower sense of the word it is not restoration). For such areas created by human intervention in order to strengthen the diversity of aquatic and wetland vegetation, the name artificial aquatic biotope has been adopted. Let us have a look at the differences and specific pitfalls of individual restoration using three specific examples.

Dewatering sewage sludge using sludge drying beds with wetland vegetation, the so-called Sludge Treatment Reed Bed units

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At present, the problem of waste disposal is growing worldwide; its secondary use is therefore more than desirable. A pressing problem for many small municipalities that need to build or reconstruct a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is solving the issue of processing the resulting sludge and its stabilization, sanitation, and further application. It is not unusual for small municipal WWTPs to lack a complete in-situ sludge management (including dewatering etc.). Sewage sludge is thus often pumped out at high cost and transported to a large WWTP. The main goal for the real application of sewage sludge is to prevent future damage to soils, plants, and the health of animals and people. For this reason, taking into account the substances currently present in the sludge (e.g., organic micropollutants), it is advisable to sufficiently pre-treat the sludge, not just sanitize it to eliminate above-limit microbial pollution.