City of Ostrava to be part of World Water Day

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March. Its purpose is to raise public awareness of the importance of water and the need for sustainable water resource management. The theme of this year’s World Water Day is “Nature for Water”. The City of Ostrava will be actively involved in the project, presenting its bid to become European Green Capital 2020 at an open day held at Ostrava’s water management company (OVAK). The city is also contributing prizes – including a school trip – for the “Find the Source” competition (part of a fun and educational water-themed event for children), as well as investing hundreds of millions of CZK from its budget in modernizing an existing water treatment plant. Other water-related projects will be implemented at two sites in Ostrava – the parks in the Pustkovec valley and at Hulváky, which are both undergoing a complete revitalization.

The most recent independent tests of tap water in the Czech Republic again confirmed that tap water in Ostrava is well within legal limits for drinking water, and in the case of nitrates and nitrites it meets special legal standards for water that is suitable for baby formula preparation. This means that the quality of Ostrava’s water is among the highest not only in the Czech Republic. Water quality plays an important role in Ostrava’s bid for the title European Green Capital (EGC) 2020, and the city considers its water management system to be among its greatest strengths. The EGC project will be presented to the general public at the water management company OVAK’s open day on Saturday 24 March. Ostrava is the first ever Czech city to bid for this prestigious international title.

Deputy Mayor Kateřina Šebestová gave more details about the city’s investments in its water management system:

“We are currently planning the modernization of the current water treatment plant in Nová Ves. This year we will announce a tender to design the new structures. We expect that the design stage will be completed during 2020, and construction work will take place in 2023. As part of this major reconstruction, we will be installing a new type of technology that has not been used in Ostrava before – granular active carbon (GAC) filters. Using this filtration method, we will be able to achieve even higher quality parameters in our drinking water. The total cost of the modernization project is estimated at around 500 million CZK.”

Water is a valuable natural resource that should not be taken for granted – and summer heatwaves, combined with long periods without rainfall, have led to major problems in recent years, including uncomfortably high summer temperatures in urban areas.

Ostrava is responding proactively to this situation, and it is one of the first Czech cities to have drawn up an adaptation strategy for climate change-related impacts and risks.

The strategy was created with the help of the general public, who during August last year contributed to a “feeling map” of hotspots – identifying places in the city where they felt uncomfortably hot, as well as places that were more pleasant even in a heatwave. This produced a valuable set of data and recommendations – including the need to plant more trees and other greenery, to add shade structures and water features to public places, and to develop existing bodies of water (such as reservoirs and ponds) in order to create bathing areas.

One project that is addressing the need for water features and greenery is the revitalization of the Pustkovec valley – a popular area of parkland (including a stream and ponds) in the west of the city. The planning stage is scheduled for completion during this year. The stream will be revitalized and rerouted, with extra vegetation added along its banks (including marsh perennials), and the project will also include the creation of a water play area (17 × 7 metres) and new park furniture (benches etc.) where people will be able to relax and enjoy the watery environment.

Other green projects that feature water-related components are the reconstruction of the Ostravice River embankment and the revitalization of the Benátky forest park and the Hulváky hill area. The city is currently planning an investment project that will open up the Ostravice, Odra and Opava rivers for water sports (in non-motorized boats); the plans are scheduled for completion by June of this year.

The city is also supporting “Find the Source”, a fun and educational water-themed project for children run by the city’s water management company OVAK. This annual project is taking place for the 17th time this year, and it is aimed at children from the city’s primary schools. Deputy Mayor Kateřina Šebestová gave more information:

“Children will do various fun tasks related to water, helping to raise their awareness of what a valuable and important natural resource water is. The project will culminate on Children’s Day (1 June 2018) at the Silesian Ostrava Castle. All the participants will receive a small gift, and the winning class group will be able to enjoy a one-day sightseeing trip to some of the most beautiful places in the region.”