Preventive flood protection in river catchment areas

Consequences for spatial planning

Abstract

Decentral flooding control concepts for whole drainage areas of small and medium-sized rivers do not exist so far. The “Informal Plan for preventive flood control” modelled for the drainage area of the river Wesenitz is presented as a generalisable regional-planning strategy concept devoted to improving the retention of land and water. This strategy advance will serve to remove shortcomings in spatial planning in the sphere of preventive flood control. The plan for the drainage area overcomes administrative hurdles and promotes co-operation between local authorities in the field of flood control. Using a synopsis of key factors influencing surface-water run-offs in the drainage area, conflict types with a bearing on how flooding arises are identified. These provide local authorities and sectoral planners with a means of specifying local flooding measures and of establishing priorities in respect thereof. Different local flooding measures are represented in the Informal Plan by means of special planning symbols.