Numerous generations have invested huge efforts in protection of threatened areas against external water, as well as against detrimental impact of inland water, which resulted with building of highly significant hydraulic structures (dikes, river curve incisions, canals, weirs, drainage systems, retentions, etc.).
Former marshes and flooded areas have become fruitful arable land, which created necessary conditions for work and living.
Today, we can say that remarkable results have been accomplished but that we must not stop. We should maintain and reconstruct the existing defence structures and continue building new ones in order to raise the level of protection against high water.
PROTECTION OF VOJVODINA AGAINST EXTERNAL WATER
-introductory remarks-
Protection against external water is one of the first water management activities that occurred in the territory of Vojvodina by the beginning of the 18th century already.
The construction of defence dikes along the rivers was intensive in particular by the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
Adopting of a unique principle of construction and reconstruction of defence lines in Vojvodina to the registered 1% high water (water that occurs once in one hundred years) was the consequence of floods on the Danube in 1965.
It is important to point out that defence systems, in particular the construction of dikes and taking of inundations from rivers, increased the defence safety of the area and they also resulted with an increase of the high water levels.
Extraordinary flood defence measures occurred every 7 years on the average within the last hundred years.
LEVEL OF THREAT CAUSED BY EXTERNAL WATER IN VOJVODINA
The threat from 1% high water covers:
- 1,000,000 ha
- (45% of the total surface)
- 260 settlements
- 1,200,000 inhabitants
- 3,840 km of roads
- 150 km of railroad
- 800 industrial facilities
PROTECTION OF VOJVODINA AGAINST EXTERNAL WATER
According to the Master and Operational Flood Control Plan, the flood defence is carried out at 20 rivers and 7 accumulations used to accept the flood waves. The total length of defence dikes is 1,460.02 km.
Danube 304.16 km
Tisa 289.63 km
Sava 119.77 km
Timis 86.04 km
Old and Navigable Begej 127.80 km
Other dikes 532.62 km
The dikes were reconstructed to one hundred-year water at about 95% of the total length of the river Danube, and at about 85% of the total length of the rivers Tisza and Sava.
The length of non-reconstructed and unbuilt sections of the dike makes 204 km, namely 283 km together with border dikes.
However, there are 101 remaining sites on the dike body, the belt adjacent to the dike and the bank that are threatened by leaks and erosion processes and they need to be rehabilitated.
PROTECTION AGAINST FLOODS AND CONGESTION CAUSED BY ICE
Protection against flood and congestions caused by ice in the territory of Vojvodina is organised and carried out by the Public Water Management Company “Vode Vojvodine” with involvement of the competent water management companies that are entrusted with maintenance of protective facilities and direct execution of tasks related to flood defence in accordance with the Master and Operational Flood Control Plan.
In organisational sense, the area is divided in 18 defence sectors.
Certain stages of defence (regular and extraordinary defence) are carried out in accordance with the achieved competent criteria and Operational Plan.
The services involved in flood defence are divided into monitoring (surveillance) and operational services.
Monitoring (surveillance) services conduct site visits to defence lines and register negative phenomena.
Operational services deal with interventions and remediation of registered negative phenomena on the defence lines.