Water table: water retention solutions in collaboration with nature

Hungarian settlements are primarily experiencing the impacts of climate change in relation to water: flooding or flash floods caused by heavy rainfall, inland water, flooding and drought, as well as increasingly severe drought and water shortages. Local governments affected by water damage often have to apply for force majeure support in the event of damage to roads and properties owned by the municipality. Drought is also a serious challenge for residents and farmers in the settlements, while heat waves and sudden temperature fluctuations increase health risks, which also presents many tasks to local governments.

An additional difficulty in dealing with water management problems is that water does not know administrative borders, and the catchment area of ​​a watercourse or standing water most often affects several settlements. The LIFE LOGOS 4 WATERS project, led by the KTM State Secretariat for Local Government and with the participation of WWF Hungary and their partners, therefore aimed to promote cooperation at the watershed level. Another important mission of the local governments and actors from various professional sectors in the lowland and hilly sample areas participating in the project is to widely introduce and disseminate locally applicable nature-based water retention solutions.

Cost-effective, close-to-nature solutions

With the cooperation of professional partners, nature-based, water retention interventions were implemented in a total of 14 settlements and two sample areas – in the Püspökszilágy area in the hilly region and around Bátya in the flatland region – which provide a concrete answer to the specific water management problems of the different regions.

Hillland – Püspökszilágy and its area

The settlements of Nyugat-Cserhát are vulnerable to flash floods, mudslides, erosion and local solutions were sought for the damage caused by the drought. In order to address the complex problem, under the leadership of Püspökszilágy, live and dead tree hedges, gully connections to curb erosion, and leaky log dams to slow down runoff were built at nearly 30 locations in 9 settlements. These small-scale interventions are able to capture water at many points in the watershed area and have a combined effect, which can mitigate both the damage caused by sudden rainfall and the consequences of the drought. The settlement awaits visitors with the Water Path educational trail on the banks of the Szilágyi stream and an interactive exhibition presenting water retention.

Síkvidék – Bátya and the surrounding settlements

Kalocsai-Sárköz was once a floodplain organically connected to the Danube, but today only the backwaters still found here and there in the landscape remind us of this. Nowadays, inland water has become a rare guest, and the landscape is mostly affected by water shortages, drying backwaters and drought. The water retention here is served by two backwater rehabilitations, several settlement green-blue infrastructure developments and rainwater storage implemented under the leadership of Bátya, complemented by an outdoor community space and two educational trails in Kalocsa and Dusnok.