Record rainfall in Central Europe caused floods to hit Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Romania this month. Now grateful Poles are heaping praise—and fond nicknames—on a local “hero.” The silent star that’s making waves . . . or rather stopping them? A floodwater reservoir system that saved the day during recent flooding.
The Raciborz Reservoir opened in southwestern Poland in 2020. The system sits on the Oder River on about 10 square miles of wildland. The basin can hold nearly 49 billion gallons of floodwater.
After days of flooding, soldiers and volunteers eyed the swollen rivers around the city of Wroclaw. Many placed sandbags around homes and businesses there.
But the bags weren’t needed. The new reservoir passed the test: It successfully flattened the Oder River’s giant flood wave during this month’s heavy rains. It spared the cities of Opole and Wroclaw from looming floods that ravaged other parts of the area.
Raciborz Reservoir took a decade and some $520 million to build. Two villages were resettled to make way for the project.
Engineers built the anti-flood reservoir following a lesson from the 1997 “flood of the century.” That deluge overwhelmed the two Polish cities.
Mindful of the 1997 disaster, Opole and Wroclaw residents watched as the river crested to the brims. But it never spilled into the streets or onto the houses.
Some places not covered by the reservoir system suffered heavy flooding. After all, the amount of rain that fell in just four days equaled the volume the area normally gets in six months!
Now the people think their reservoir deserves a title. “National Hero,” the “King of Gold,” and “Raciborz Reservoir the Great” are some of the names suggested in social media posts.
Some folks are even proposing that the Lower Raciborz Reservoir floodplains be named after another celebrated guardian: Poland’s famous soccer goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny.
I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the Earth. — Genesis 9:11
