Is the Czech Republic's water management in danger?

Pavel Patera descends - first the steps of the new jetty, then he has to climb to get into his control boat. He is the head of the Orlik Dam, the most water-rich reservoir in the Czech Republic. Patera says that the stairs were only rebuilt two years ago. At the time, no one suspected that the level would one day fall so low. His heart bleeds at the sight of the lake.

The level of the reservoir has already fallen a full 15 meters - and has therefore lost half of its water. Here, just behind the dam, the water loss seems minimal at first glance, but the old water level is visible at the edges.

Too little rain, too little snow

The last time the level was this low was 50 years ago. The tributaries of the reservoir in particular are running dry. At the Podolsky Most, around 25 kilometers as the crow flies from the dam, the remains of an old inn have reappeared.

Next to it, the pillars of the old rope bridge from the 19th century are reappearing. The gauge at the new bridge has not shown any water level for weeks. Even near the dam, ruined buildings in the lake were marked with small self-made buoys - such as the old church tower, which is still under water.

Patera hopes it stays that way, because there hasn't been enough snow and rain in the Czech Republic for two years. According to hydrologists, last summer was the driest in 80 years.

Concern about Moldova

But you don't notice any of this in the state capital Prague; at least not yet. Because the Orlik reservoir is part of the so-called Vltava cascade. These are nine reservoirs from the Bohemian Forest to just before Prague.

They serve to protect against flooding, but during droughts they release water and keep the level of the Vltava at a minimum. Other parts of the cascade can still provide enough water so that the water levels in Prague remain stable.

The dam system not only serves the capital, it serves many regions of the Czech Republic, explains Petr Kubala, director of the Moldova River Basin Administration. The water from the lakes would keep the entire ecosystem around the river alive. It ensures that water extraction, for example for agriculture, works, that discharged wastewater is diluted and that the groundwater level in the following Elbe region remains stable.

Kubala also looks at the river with concern. Another drought winter would endanger not only the Vltava Cascade but the entire water management system in the Czech Republic.

20 new reservoirs or recultivation?

The Babi government is therefore promising 20 new dams - they should provide even more water for droughts. But their financing is completely unclear. There is a billion-dollar hole in the Czech budget, and it remains to be seen whether the EU will provide funding for this. In addition, the construction of dams takes years; Work on Lake Orlik lasted seven years.

This is also why director Petr Kubala, who also advises the government, suggests shorter-term measures. Agriculture must create more infiltration areas and old streams and rivers should be recultivated. The goal must be to store water better instead of draining it away.

Pavel Patera at the Orlik reservoir also sees it that way. He is also convinced that the Czech Republic needs to invest in its water supply. Maybe he could welcome the new 20 reservoir bosses at some point, he says. But there is a long way to go until then.

Now Patera is hoping for rain: lots of rain - because a really wet autumn and winter would fill up his lake again.

You can see these and other reports in the Europamagazin – on Sunday at 12:45 p.m. on Erste.