Rainwater Management in the Urban Landscape of Wroclaw in Terms of Adaptation to Climate Changes

Abstract

Modern city development requires increasing investments in so-called green and blue infrastructure. Water deficits and frequent droughts are a motivation to introduce economic water management and rainwater retention. Urban areas, which are often intensively developed and sealed, have lost their natural ability to retain rainwater. This is often the cause of urban floods that occur as a result of intense rainfall events, whose intensity exceeds the capacity of urban drainage systems. These problems are caused by low surface and soil retention. These negative phenomena force us to take certain actions related to urban hydrology, such as determining catchments in urban areas and capturing rainwater. Town and city management must take into account also the functional and aesthetic aspects with the aim to improve the life quality of residents. Rainwater management on site of the rainfall allows to combine sustainable water management with creating places of high aesthetic and functional value. The paper outlines the policy of the city Wrocław with respect to rainwater management and presents proposed solutions for a selected street, large-surface parking lot and a city square. Calculating the rainfall amount correctly and then preparing a land management design allows to use rainwater in creating attractive recreation areas.

Keywords

• urban areas
• retention
• rainwater