A key water management issue for Ostrava is flood protection. In 1997 the city was hit by massive floods; this led to numerous flood defence measures. The City introduced preventive measures and prepared a set of measures to be implemented in a flood situation.
The preventive measures include legislative and administrative changes, flood plans (covering the entire drainage basin, municipalities, and sites/buildings in flood zones), and the construction/installation and maintenance of flood defence structures and equipment.
The measures to be implemented in a flood situation include the activation of a flood forecasting and public announcement system, ongoing monitoring of all meteorological and hydrological parameters, and forecasting-based methods enabling action to be taken when and where it becomes necessary.
The flood zones of Ostrava’s watercourses (including the active area within the flood zone) are delineated by the responsible authorities. The City has drawn up a Flood Plan including measures to be implemented at the level of the individual municipal districts, and it also has a Flood Commission.
Ostrava’s flood defence system is co-funded by the state and the City budget.
In 2014 Ostrava created a Digital Flood Plan which incorporates the territories of outlying municipalities that are partially integrated into the City of Ostrava; the plan sets out measures to prevent or mitigate potential flood-related damage.
A natural form of flood defence is the Protected Landscape Area Poodri – an area situated along the banks of the Odra River before it enters the city, and partially within the city boundaries; this enables floodwater to disperse into extensive buffer areas consisting of riparian woodland and alluvial meadows.