From the world of water management

Interview with Ing. Tomáš Fojtík, director of the T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute

He has been Director of TGM WRI for a year. How does he evaluate this first year and what has he already managed to change for the better in our Institute? How does he remember his twenty years at the Institute as regular employee? And what are his plans and goals for the future regarding the direction of TGM WRI? „I would like to continue fulfilling my vision of creating a recognized and functioning institute of national and European importance as a research base for the field of water management with such a working culture and environment that it would be a target and prestigious workplace for quality and satisfied experts willing to actively cooperate,“ says the Director of our Institute, and newly also the president of the International Commission for the Protection of the Elbe, Ing. Tomá Fojtík.

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Interview with Mgr. Petr Hladík, Minister of the Environment

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.

Technical Heritage of the Elbe-Vltava Waterway

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

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.

(Inter)nationality of VTEI journal

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

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

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

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

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.

Interview with Jaroslav Pollert, professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at CTU and a successful Czechoslovak representative in canoeing

An interview with Jaroslav Pollert, professor of the Faculty of Civil Engineering at CTU and a successful Czechoslovak representative in canoeing, about his work as part of the Executive Committee of the International Canoeing Federation (ICF), the Czechoslovak and later the Czech Olympic Committee, about his professional career focused on the hydrodynamics of dispersion systems including, among other things, designing channels for water slalom and about his view on water management studies at Czech universities.

Presentation of some of the results of a research project mapping the development of the construction of elevated water tanks in the Czech Republic

This paper presents a summary of some of the results of the research project, “Water towers – identification, documentation, presentation, new utilization”, (DG18P02OVV010), which has been implemented since 2018 as part of the Programme for the Support of applied Research and Development of  National and Cultural Identity for 2016–2022 (NAKI II) of  the Ministry of  Culture of the Czech Republic. In terms of content, it follows on from articles from previous years published in this periodical, but clarifies and supplements the issues of technical terminology and typology established at its inception based 
on the knowledge gained during the project. Furthermore, it presents general results of the records of the structures of elevated water tanks and focuses on a brief description of the historical development of these structures in our territory. 

On the issue of authenticity of water management structures

Authenticity, in the sense of credibility or truthfulness, is one of the key categories in heritage management. This paper focuses on the question of authenticity in relation to industrial heritage, specifically water management structures. In the case of these structures, emphasis is usually placed on authenticity of function, but two further types of authenticity are equally important: authenticity of material substance or form (in relation to the original design and the structure built on its basis), and authenticity as a consequence of historical evolution. The paper presents an analysis of four model examples of water management structures that are either legally protected heritage sites or have been proposed as candidates for legal protection. The analysis of their heritage values provides insights into the individual categories of authenticity and enables the formulation of principles for managing sites of heritage value.

Interview with Ing. arch. Eva Dvořáková and Ing. arch. Tereza Bartošíková, Ph.D., about protection of technical and industrial cultural heritage in the Czech and Slovak Republik

As part of the December issue of VTEI, which is entirely devoted to the topic of technical and industrial cultural heritage and the “Programme of applied research and development of national and cultural identity (NAKI II)” of the Ministry of Culture, we asked for an interview with two specialists in this field, Ing. arch. Eva Dvořáková from the National Heritage Institute (Národní památkový ústav, NPÚ) and Ing. arch. Tereza Bartošíková, Ph.D., from the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic (Pamiatkový úrad Slovenskej republiky, PÚ SR).

Use and popularisation of historical and current water management sources of information for the development of an environmentally friendly society

Since time immemorial, research in all scientific fields has brought countless new information and broadened the spectrum of current knowledge. In the past, research was made more difficult by the then possibilities of disseminating newly acquired knowledge. Many scientists in the world have asked
the same questions, proposed and tested similar hypotheses, obtained similar scientific results, and reached their own unique conclusions. The problem was the very limited possibility of sharing this new information, thus the possibility of their mutual use and very often their preservation and availability to
future generations. It is safe to say that in the history of science, a huge amount of knowledge and information was discovered that was not used enough, was discovered repeatedly, or was completely lost.

The current version of the BILAN model

BILAN je celistvý konceptuální model v denní/měsíční struktuře (schéma je uvedeno na obr. 1), simulující složky hydrologické bilance na povodí. Přestože jeho vývoj byl nastartován ve VÚV TGM již počátkem devadesátých let minulého století, jde o model, který je v České republice stále standardně používán a zůstává přístupný laické i odborné veřejnosti. Například je nedílnou součástí řešení aplikace/systému HAMR [1], ale byl použit i jinde [2–4]. Mezi hlavní výhody modelu oproti jiným řešením patří interní kalibrační algoritmy, možnost přímého vkládání dat o užívání vod a nízká výpočetní náročnost vhodná pro variantní simulování (např. dopadů klimatické změny na vodní režim).

Annotation of the exhibition Irrigation – rediscovered heritage, its documentation and popularization

As a response to landscape drainage in the modern era, caused by the intensification of agriculture, the drying up of ponds, and land reclamation activities, interest in the opposite process has reappeared, i.e. irrigation. Existing irrigation systems, at present often non-functional and preserved only in parts, have become the subject of interest for this project which tried to capture the historical development of this specific water management field as well as part of the industry associated with the implementation of irrigation and the production of soil irrigation equipment.

Professional events in 2015

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Přinášíme Vám přehled odborných akcí z oboru vodního hospodářství konaných v roce 2015 a také poslední akce konané v tomto roce, na které se můžete ještě zaregistrovat. Organizační garance většiny dále uvedených odborných akcí náleží Ing. Václavu… Read more »

ČVTVHS in 2016

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Pokud jde o odborné akce v roce 2016, lze v této chvíli uvést několik záměrů, které se časem budou zpřesňovat a nepochybně i doplňovat dalšími: Jako formální spolupořadatel se budeme podílet na konferenci Voda 2016, kterou uspořádá dne 17…. Read more »

River ferries on old topographic maps

Medium and large rivers were a major obstacle to historic trade routes and trails. River ferries were one of the main ways to cross them, so their sites were considered points of strategic importance. Using old topographic maps from Austrian military mapping from 1763–1768, 1836–1852, 1876–1880, Prussian military maps from 1825 and 1877, and Czechoslovak military maps from 1953–1957, we systematically located ferries throughout the current territory of Czechia. Map keys from individual mappings were also analysed to examine how ferries are depicted on these maps. Based on the study of old topographic maps, a geographical database was created with the location of individual ferries, including the period in which the river ferry was registered. A total of 514 historical ferries were recorded on old topographic maps from military mapping throughout Czechia; another 28 ferries were identified from other available, more detailed, map sources.

Citation analysis of VTEI

The citation rate of a journal is considered an indicator of its quality. This study presents a citation analysis of the VTEI journal, published by the T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute (hereinafter TGM WRI). The citation analysis was conducted to identify the countries and institutions of authors who cite articles published in VTEI and the subject areas in which articles published in VTEI are cited. The identification of citing articles was complicated by the wide range of forms of VTEI journal title notation, as well as errors in the Scopus database. Therefore, the search was performed in several steps and the search query was gradually expanded. Descriptive statistics methods and cluster analysis using VOSviewer software were used for the analyses. A total of 126 publications were searched in the Scopus database, but only 108 publications were included in the analysis. These 108 articles quoted 152 articles published in VTEI. The number of VTEI citations has increased from sporadic citations prior to 2009 to more than 20 citing publications in 2020 and more than 30 cited publications in 2021. The majority of citations were received by articles published in VTEI within the first six years of publication, and the citation rate for articles published between 2009 and 2021 is relatively even. Authors from 66 institutions in 16 countries, mainly in Europe, contributed to the citing publications. However, authors from the Czech Republic were dominantly involved in citations and, in many cases, these were authors of articles published in VTEI. The main areas where articles published in VTEI are cited are environmental sciences, specifically the impacts of climate change on water management and hydrology, and water quality assessment using the water footprint.

Development of citations of the magazine VTEI

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Časopis Vodohospodářské technicko-ekonomické informace (VTEI) vychází již 63 let. Zároveň je to pět let od ukončení spolupráce s časopisem Vodní hospodářství a začátku vydávání časopisu VTEI v současné modernizované podobě. V úvodním slovu k číslu 4–5/2015, jež… Read more »

Interview with Ing. Eva Juranová, head of the Department of Analysis and Assessment of Environmental Components at TGM WRI

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Paní inženýrko, ve svém výzkumu se zaměřujete především na problematiku radioaktivity v životním prostředí. Bylo toto téma již od počátku v centru vaší badatelské pozornosti? Ano, dá se to tak říct. Ve VÚV TGM jsem jako čerstvý absolvent začínala… Read more »

We present the new website of TGM WRI

VÚV TGM se po více než 11 letech dočkal nového webu. Původně byla snaha představit nový web v rámci výročí 100 let od založení instituce na konci roku 2019, nicméně celkový rozsah změn si nakonec vyžádal širší diskuzi napříč celou institucí tak, aby se pracovníci ústavu mohli se záměrem, motivací a především účelem nového webu podrobně seznámit. Tím, že nejde o pouhou změnu designu, ale o zcela nový web včetně grafiky a struktury, bylo toto přechodné období jistě na místě a my ve VÚV TGM věříme, že návštěvníci z řad laické i odborné veřejnosti jeho uživatelskou vstřícnost a přehlednost brzy ocení.

Memory of Ing. Bohumil Müller

Ve věku nedožitých 87 let zemřel Ing. Bohumil Müller, nesporně nepřehlédnutelná osobnost ve vodním hospodářství, v oboru, jemuž od absolutoria na Fakultě inženýrského stavitelství ČVUT věnoval podstatnou část svého života, svých odborných znalostí a zkušeností.

Memory of RNDr. Eva Kočkova

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. 30. 10. 1929–13. 8. 2021, Brno V pátek 13. srpna 2021 nás ve věku nedožitých 92 let opustila naše dlouholetá kolegyně RNDr. Eva KOČKOVÁ. Nezapomenutelný úsměv spojený s často nekompromisní povahou… to byla Eva Kočková, více než 50 let… Read more »

Education of water managers in Bohemia (and Moravia)

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Ve vodařině se mezi odborníky i veřejností často diskutuje o suchu, povodních, kvalitě vody ke koupání, o zajištění zásobování pitné vody atd., a to vždy podle toho, co zrovna nastane. Je však stejná pozornost věnována například zajištění další generace českých vodohospodářů?… Read more »

TGM WRI HEIS: 25 years of development and operation of the information system

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Souhrn… aneb článek o internetovém portálu, to dnes už nikdo číst nebude – co v článku najdete, co ne a proč V letošním roce je tomu rovných 25 let od zahájení vývoje (a následně pak provozu) Hydroekologického informačního systému… Read more »

Assessment of responsible water management in industrial enterprises

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Nebývalé množství srážek, které se v České republice vyskytly v první polovině letošního roku, dávají alespoň laické veřejnosti zapomenout na problémy se suchem a nedostatkem vody z předchozích let. I přesto zůstává sucho problémem, na který je zapotřebí se připravit. V odborné literatuře… Read more »

Interview with Ing. Zbyněk Folk, General Manager of The Ohře River Basin, State-Owned Company

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Generálním ředitelem státního podniku Povodí Ohře jste se stal v květnu 2019. Po vašem nástupu do funkce v něm došlo k řadě změn. Které z nich byste označil za největší a jaké cíle si kladete do dalších let? Státní podnik Povodí Ohře… Read more »

The journal’s stolen digital identity – another risk for academics

This article is available in Czech only. For translation or more information on this topic, please contact author. Stejně jako mnoha jiným publikujícím autorům se i v mé e-mailové schránce pravidelně objevuje nabídka uveřejnit článek ve všech možných vědeckých časopisech. Většina těchto zpráv skončí ve spamu, ale i ten si pravidelně kontroluji. A přiznávám, že ze zvědavosti sleduji, jaké… Read more »

BÍLINA – The story of the purple river

Ibra Ibrahimovič (1967) has been photographing his black-and-white series ”Střepy severních Čech” (Pieces of Northern Bohemia) since the early 1990s. He became known to the public as a photographer of the struggle to save the village of Libkovice in 1993, and later in 2003 with an award-winning series about farmer Rajter. With the support of… Read more »