Changes in flood risk impacted by river training – case study of piedmont section of the Vistula river

Abstract

Abstract Changes in flood risk impacted by river training - case study of piedmont section of the Vistula river. Main problems concerning the flood risk in piedmont section of the Vistula, Southern Poland, are discussed. This stretch of the river is channelized since the middle of the 19th century. It is part of the mainstream discussion of the effectiveness of existing river channelization methods. The following problems are analysed: (1) current state of flood risk, (2) the rate of river flow, (3) changes in flood risk since the start of channelization efforts with respect to changing channel geometry and changing rates of river flow reflecting the effects of channelization work. Substantially increased bankfull discharge in a channelized river may be considered as a stable hydrologic feature of the river stretch analysed. This means that the river is effectively reducing the quantity of water available for flooding the inter-embankment zone. This statement is the basis for analysis of changes in flood risk in the river studied. An assessment of changes in flood risk for the piedmont section of the Vistula cannot be categorical. Some changes in discharge help reduce flood risk, while others increase it. The paper is based mainly on the State Hydrological Survey data over more than the last 100 years, a large-scale maps over the last 230 years, and fieldwork conducted by the author.