Baza danych projektów PROW

EAFRD funds supported the restoration of an old reservoir in the Slovak part of the Beskidy Mountains ensuring the region was much better prepared in the event of a forest fire in this high fire risk area.

The Oravská Polhora village, in the Protected Landscape Area (PLA) of Upper Orava, in the middle Beskidy range of mountains has been categorised as a forest area with a high fire risk. The original reservoir, which was in operation until 1918, stored water for wood floatation. The ground dam was 10m high and had a drain device. Its restoration became necessary to equip the area with the necessary mechanisms to deal with the high fire risk.

The overall project objective was, through the reconstruction of the former reservoir, to increase the protection of the forest against fires and implement preventive measures. The beneficiary State enterprise Forests of the Slovak Republic aimed specifically to collect a sufficient amount of water, thus creating the conditions for facilitating and accelerating the intervention of fire equipment in the event of forest fires.

The reconstruction of the reservoir was the main project activity and included reconstruction of the tank wall, the bridge, and the water drain. To do this the original tank was drained, the silt removed and the tank's firewall built, its length at the crown is 52m. A reinforced concrete pump pit and a new tunnel of 2200mm diameter were also built. The Polhoranka river basin was restored with the addition of a boulder field to the bottom.

The main benefit of the restoration of the Borsučie reservoir is that sufficient water resources to extinguish any fire in the surrounding forests are now ensured. The reconstruction of the former reservoir at the small fire reserve has also improved the conditions for hygrophilous flora and has created conditions for the formation of new hydrophilic habitats, which have contributed to the improvement of biodiversity protection.

The project demonstrates the importance of consultations between all the main stakeholders (in this case stakeholders in the Protected Landscape Area of Upper Orava, the engineering designer and the Administration of the PLA). Such an approach can result in a successful project outcome in both technical terms and with regard to environmental protection requirements.

Oravská Polhora village, district Námestovo, Žilina region

Zilinsky kraj

Slovakia

503 648

402 919

100 729

Ing. Aladár Trnovský

aladar.trnovsky@lesy.sk

+421 907 879 237

Slovak