Kosice water protocol

On 24 February 2005, the Košice Parliament approved by its resolution the Košice Water Protocol in the 21st century as a strategic document for water protection in the Košice agglomeration as prevention of floods, drought, and climate change.
The Protocol aimed to strengthen rainwater retention directly in the urban landscape, restoring damaged ecosystems as a component of a healthy climate.
Following the approval of the Protocol by the Košice Parliament, pilot projects were launched to demonstrate the rainwater retention effectiveness and its impact on water, ecosystems, and the climate.

Pilot projects confirmed that rainwater capture could regenerate damaged ecosystems. If we allow rainwater to seep into the ground, recharge the groundwater, and sustain the soil biology and vegetation. It creates appropriate moisture conditions for optimal growth of new vegetation.

We constructed contour infiltration strips perpendicular to the erosive grooves regenerate, which can hold about 300 m3 of rainwater at one time. The belts were regularly filled with rainwater in the first years, percolating in the ground and evaporating. The project was implemented in November 2005.
Gradually, vegetation began to regenerate on the site, revealing the diversity of species, which takes over the function of rainwater retention.
We estimate that over 13 years since 2006, our structures retained more than 60,000 m3 of rainwater in the revitalized ecosystem. In other words, the stormwater runoff, which in the past has damaged the ecosystem by intense erosion, rehydrated and restored the local habitat. Now, all rainwater remains in the local area, and the dominant part of this water goes into the vapor. Vegetation transpires water and cools the environment, mitigating the urban heat dome effect and improving metropolitan air quality.