– Information that the dam is overflowing was provided by the head of Polish Waters for crisis management in Kłodzko the day before, and employees were evacuated from there – said Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure, Dariusz Klimczak, on Friday in the “Tak jest” program on TVN24. – Does a dam have to burst for people to understand that they need to evacuate? – he asked, referring to the complaints of local government officials who claim that they were not warned in time about the impending disaster.
The Świdnica prosecutor's office is conducting an investigation into the breach of the earth dam of a dry reservoir in Stronie Śląskie. After the dam broke on Sunday, September 15, large floods devastated the city and other nearby towns.
Mayor of Stronie Śląskie Dariusz Chromiec said that “there was a lack of communication between the local government, Polish Waters and the crisis management staff.” In his opinion, the dam was not prepared to absorb such a large amount of water. – It required modernization and reconstruction. It didn't fulfill its role. It turned out that the overflow channels were not working, says Chromiec. As he says, he was not informed that the embankment was broken. “I didn't have that information,” he said.
Damaged dam in Stronie Śląskie TVN24
“When a dam breaks, it's too late to evacuate”
The Minister of Infrastructure was asked about the dam issue on Friday in the “Tak jest” program on TVN24 Dariusz Klimczak. – Information that the dam was overflowing was provided by the head of Polish Waters for crisis management in Kłodzko the day before – said the minister. He added that “the day before, the dam began to overflow and employees were evacuated from there, and the earth part of the dam was damaged the next day after 10 a.m.”
– Polish Waters claims that when the dam breaks, it is too late to evacuate, and the information about the need to evacuate was presented the day before – said Klimczak.
“All issues must be clarified”
The president of the Wody Polskie Water Management Company, Joanna Kopczyńska, admitted that the company does not have alternative radio and satellite communications. – Nobody just bought it, nobody cared about it – she said at a press meeting on Thursday. She also reported that the authorities of Stronie Śląskie were informed about the possibility of breaking the dam on Saturday, September 14, at 10:52 p.m.
– Is the obligation to purchase alternative communication than the statutory one obligatory? – Klimczak asked, commenting on Kopczyńska's statement.
He added that “all issues must be clarified.” – The prosecutor's office is already working there, how did this happen? However, operational issues and procedures are clear, and this is specified in crisis management, in the Water Management Act, how (Polish) Waters function. Officials who operate this type of reservoirs warned the day before that the dam was overflowing and there was a need to evacuate, Klimczak said.
The minister emphasized that he did not want to blame anyone. – These matters will be clarified by the prosecutor's office. These people who worked on the dam are bound by specific instructions and procedures. However, I believe that local government officials blame the employees of Polish Waters in such a way that they did not warn them because the communication was broken. According to the information I received from Wody Polskie, communication was interrupted between 7 and 8 a.m. After 10 o'clock the dam broke, Klimczak recalled. He added that the last message from Wody Polskie appeared at 7 am.
He also emphasized that “it is not Polish Waters that manages the crisis in a given commune, they only provide information on what is happening in the reservoir.”
Questions to the Minister of Infrastructure after damage to the earth dam in Stronie ŚląskieTVN24
“This shows what a huge cataclysm we were dealing with”
Klimczak pointed out that “the capacity of this dam, according to calculations and design, is approximately 80 cubic meters per second.” – The water gauge in Lądek-Zdrój showed over 320 cubic meters per second at that moment. This shows what a huge cataclysm we were dealing with. All the more so because these employees were evacuated from there after overfilling the tank the day before. Hasn't someone who manages a crisis town noticed that if people were evacuated from there and the head of the water supervision in Kłodzko informs the crisis management that there is a need to evacuate, does something more need to be done, does the dam have to break to understand that they need to evacuate? – Klimczak wondered.
He assured that he was “absolutely not accusing anyone.” – However, I am also appealing to local government officials, several are commenting on this issue, it's not just about Page, it's also about several other towns, those who are trying to make a scapegoat of Wody Polskie and their employees. Let us remember that their houses were also flooded, because these people simply live there, said Klimczak. – And when they informed the water supervision in Kłodzko that the dam was overflowing and that there was a need to evacuate, they probably knew what they were talking about. Further, what decisions were made by crisis management and local government heads? I think this is something that needs to be clarified. So that we won't have a repeat of this type of decision – added the minister.
When asked if this was the weakest link in the entire Polish Water system, he replied that in his opinion it was not. – Generally speaking, this flood has not ended yet. Let's remember that on Sunday and Monday this wave will reach Szczecin. We also have endangered areas there. And then it will be possible to take stock of this flood completely. It will take time to comprehensively assess the functioning of crisis management, local government officials, voivodes and the government. And Polish Waters should definitely be included in this assessment, said Klimczak.
Klimczak: Polish Waters should be reformed, not liquidated
The head of the Ministry of Infrastructure admitted that the Polish Waters Water Farm – an institution created by PIS – requires deep restructuring. He recalled that this institution centralized water management in Poland. – Melioration, irrigation, setting water prices and managing water reservoirs are definitely too much. Some of these functions may return to local governments, he said.
He added that the initial project for the reform of Polish Waters was proposed in spring, but – as he said – “there was a clamor that increasing the competences of local governments would involve drastic increases in water prices.” “And no one had that in mind,” he assured.
Klimczak also said that Poland is nearing the end of launching a large project financed by the World Bank worth EUR 1.5 billion.
The Water Management Company Wody Polskie was established on January 1, 2018 on the basis of state budgetary units, i.e. the National Water Management Resource and employees of poviat offices. The direct reason for carrying out the water management reform was the need to implement the provisions of the EU Water Framework Directive. Its implementation was a condition for Poland to use funds from the European Union operational programs for 2014–2020.
Main photo source: TVN24