Work is being done between the Szolnok railway bridge and the town of Kisköre in Hungary to increase the Tisza riverbed’s capacity to discharge floodwater safely. The aim is to strengthen protection against flooding for 49 localities in the area and support adaptation to climate change.
Strengthening protection against flooding from Hungary’s river Tisza
- 13 May 2020
The project covers two levees on the right and left banks of the Tisza, which are 62.21 km and 53.25 km long respectively, the adjacent floodplain and two flood basins: the 1 037 km² Laskó-Tisza-Zagyva-Tarna-köz and 942 km² Fegyvernek-Mesterszállás.
Easing floodwater discharge
Actions to ease floodwater discharge include lowering the embankments along the Kanyari channel, the Pityóka embankment and the levee at Tiszaroff-Felsőrét, where an existing structure will be renovated.
Improvements to the floodplain above the railway bridge on the left bank and to the natural levees on the right bank at Kanyari and the left bank near the Nagykörű ferry will also improve water flows, as will landscaping of around 75 % of the floodplain to eradicate invasive plants. Work to preserve the floodplain environment will continue after the end of the project.
Relocation of the main levees will eliminate narrow points which impede floodwater conveyance. This is being done on the left bank at Szajol and Óballa; on the right bank between Szórópuszta and Doba, where a new flood defence line will be connected to the levee; and at Keskenyi, where the relocation will support environmental protection. Additional work to stabilise the levee will be carried out.
Natural heritage will be further safeguarded by building a structure to ensure water supply to the Csatlói-Holt-Tisza oxbow lake and the rebuilding of the Zsidófoki sluice to supply water to the Patkós oxbow lake.
Rubber tyres, which currently protect a section of the left bank, are to be removed. The slope is to be improved and existing protective rock armour is to be spread more evenly along the section. In addition, rock armour 50 cm thick is to be laid on the right bank in the area of the channels linking the Tisza with the Hany-Tiszasüly reservoir.
Extreme and frequent floods
The water flows of the Tisza are extremely variable. Discharge rates range from 50 to 4 700 m³ per second. Its width varies from about 200 m in the Great Plain to 95 m at Szolnok.
Land use changes in the floodplains near Szolnok have increased their roughness, causing the riverbed conveyance capacity to drop and water levels to rise. The levees thus no longer provide adequate protection and have become unstable in some places. This has led to more extreme and more frequent flooding in recent years. Given the area’s high population density and number of sites of social, cultural and archaeological importance, action is vital.
By widening narrow sections of the river, lowering embankments and improving environmental conditions in the floodplain, the project aims to protect some 124 000 people and their homes, industrial, business and agricultural facilities and conservation areas. It should reduce maximum flood levels by around 50 cm and ensure that flood and ice flows, sediment and floating solids are discharged without causing damage.
As well as creating employment during implementation and cutting flood defence costs, the intervention will indirectly address the harmful economic impact of exposure to flooding. This could stimulate entrepreneurship in the area, resulting in investment, property development, new jobs, higher incomes and less emigration.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Tisza floodplain: improving conveyance capacity of the high-water riverbed between the railway bridge at Szolnok and Kisköre” is EUR 60 419 629, with the EU’s Cohesion Fund contributing EUR 49 643 240 through the “Environmental and Energy Efficiency” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Adaptation to the impact of climate change”.