Rivers in cities - especially small ones - have been used over the centuries in ways we would find hard to believe today. In the 19th century, they were used by cities to drain waste water. The growth of cities, industry and a growing population quickly led to disaster - the watercourses could not keep up with receiving and discharging sewage, causing many nuisances. It is not without reason, for example, that Warsaw's Sluzewiec Stream was until recently called Smródka.
So urban rivers began to be canalized. Hiding them in underground canals allowed them to hide the problem and freed up space for new development. To this day, many rivers are underground, and there is not even accurate information about their course.
happening on the Drna River in Warsaw raising awareness of the problem of rivers hidden underground in Polish cities
photo: Tomasz Kaczor
The situation of Polish rivers is dramatic. The condition of a river cannot be analyzed on its selected section. How much and what quality of water we will have in a river flowing through a city depends on what happened to it before. Meanwhile, in Poland, more than 90 percent of surface waters (including rivers) are in need of restoration. We should improve their condition according to the Water Framework Directive by 2027. However, for more than 40 percent of "problem" rivers, no action has been taken.
Rivers are often beginning to run out of water. In Poland, it flows about one-third of what it does on average in Western Europe. Progressive sealing of the surface prevents water from seeping into the ground, and the rapid discharge into sewers only exacerbates the problem. In addition, climate change means that Poland has fewer rainy days, and rainfall is less frequent but more intense. Such intense rainfall causes flooding problems and city paralysis in a short period of time, but it recharges groundwater much worse than less intense rains.
happening on the Drna River in Warsaw raising awareness of the problem of rivers hidden underground in Polish cities
photo: Tomasz Kaczor
Cities are starting to become more aware of these problems, realizing public expectations for opening up water fronts and the importance of rivers in the context of climate change adaptation (especially flash floods, heat waves and drought). Still rare, however, are holistic measures aimed at restoring retention capacity, environmental quality and biodiversity, and the continuity of ecological corridors, with preservation of recreational spaces and environmental education. The dominant projects are the construction of riverside boulevards.
The Hovin stream in Oslo, which has been excavated from under the ground - it is much easier for Norwegian cities to implement such ambitious measures, as the municipalities are the stewards of the rivers that flow through their area
Photo: Tharan Fergus
We are looking for the reasons for this situation in discussions, workshops and seminars with practitioners and experts, carried out as part of the Municipal River Valley Ecosystems project. The Potential of Ecosystem Services in the Face of Anthropogenic Climate Change, funded by the EEA Funds. Below are our conclusions.
The main challenge linking river valley management is finding a balance between the needs of river valley ecosystems and economic and social needs. Unfortunately, residents, officials or planners often lack knowledge of how nature works and to what extent it can be controlled. Opening water fronts will only succeed if the water is of good quality, and for this we need natural self-purification mechanisms.
happening on the Drna River in Warsaw raising awareness of the problem of rivers hidden underground in Polish cities
photo: Tomasz Kaczor
With the change in attitudes toward rivers and, more broadly, urban nature, the vicinity of watercourses has begun to be seen as extremely attractive, which generates a lot of investment pressure on areas that should be protected. This pressure also applies to floodplains, which absolutely should be kept clear of development. However, there is no adequate statutory prohibition. Where a local plan has not been passed, local governments can stop development only at their own risk.
Workshop participants during a field visit, which was the starting point for developing an educational campaign on the protection of urban rivers in Wroclaw
photo: Tomasz Jagodzinski
The situation is further aggravated by complicated ownership issues that make it difficult to carry out restoration activities or place the valley under protection. Often it is not even known who is the host of a given watercourse. In Poland, not only do cities not own the riverside areas, which very often have numerous owners, but they are not even the host of the watercourses themselves, which remain under the authority of the Polish Waters.
How to respond to these challenges will be discussed at the River in the City conference, November 7-8 in Warsaw. More information and registration: sendzimir.org.pl.
Sluzewiec Creek in Warsaw, a typical example of a river in a canal
Photo: Agnieszka Kowalewska
