Draining Jeziorki

Time for some ultra-localist down-your-wayism. No right turn into ul. Dumki from Trombity, something that'll affect but a handful of Jeziorki residents. What's up?

And at the other end of ul. Dumki, signs of construction work afoot. What's going on? A bit of googling informs me that the city authorities have decided to do something about the regular flooding round these parts. A public tender has been issued, and a winning bidder announced. For the price of 5,362,217.62 zlotys (just over a million quid), MKL Bud will do the job. And within less than a fortnight of the bid announcement, the construction teams are on site.

Below: a drainage canal that takes water from the low-lying fields between the railway line, ul. Baletowa and ul. Kórnicka (an empty coal train heads northwards in the distance).

Below: pond between ul. Baletowa and ul. Dumki. This seems to be being deepened, with mud from its bed being piled on to its banks.

Below: drainage ditch on the north side of ul. Dumki, it's been cleaned out and deepened.

Below: drainage ditch on the south side of ul. Dumki, looking towards ul. Trombity in the distance.

Below: translation of the text of the public tender associated with the works which are to be carried out. The deadline for completion of all the works here is Wednesday 30 October 2013.

Reclamation of Lake Zgorzała and development of adjacent land - Stage I

Contract for restoration of Lake Zgorzała along with the development of adjacent areas - Phase I.

Lake Zgorzała is an area of about 11 hectares located in the basin of the canal between ul.Baletową, Jeziorki and ul.Trombity. The main aim of work related to the above-mentioned lake is to ensure proper water retention in the Jeziorki Canal basin, which due to its frequent and severe flooding, is an important for the flood protection of its catchment area, particularly the settlements along the above-mentioned canal and around its basin.

Work included within the scope of the tender:
1) Construction and earthworks associated with deepening the lake's basin and landscaping
2) Removal of soil
3) Demolishing the existing culvert under ul. Dumki that drains water from the lake to the Jeziorki canal (poor condition, inadequate parameters), and the construction of a new one to replace it, which meets the new threshold at the inlet of stabilising water in the first tank
4) Constructing a threshold between the basins stabilising lake water levels in the second reservoir above the lake
5) Constructing a road culvert under ul. Dumki in the southern part of the lake
6) Constructing inlet sections of biofilter trenches to protect the water quality of the lake
7) Removing and replacing power lines
8) Cutting down and removing trees and shrubs.

As well as having a water retention function, the lake will also be a part of the natural landscape and features, maintaining the diversity of fauna and flora.

NOTE
The roadway of ul. Kórnicka is made accessible to support the construction, and ul. Dumki is made available for the execution of the project. Construction vehicles must meet the requirements of the rules of the road in relation to permissible loads on the axles and other technical parameters. Vehicles not conforming to the above parameters may use the roads after obtaining appropriate permits, provided the restoration of the original road used at the expense of the Contractor.

Scope of work:
1) Preparatory work:
a) measuring work
b) asphalt demolition of approximately 200 m² of asphalt and culverts
c) building and removal of temporary access roads
d) the felling and removal of 1,691 trees and shrubs
2) Earthworks:
a) Removing about 68,000 m3 of soil
3) Construction work:
a) a threshold of gabions damming the top lake and lower lake
b) the culvert under ul. Dumki
c) on the Jeziorki canal passage (214cm x 164cm elliptical cross section)
4) Constructing a water supply treatment plant tank:
a) Two biofilters with stone and wire mesh baskets
5) Restoring the overhead power lines
6) Painting and finishing the fastenings.

So there we are. I shall keep you updated as to how this ongoing work progresses. It should mean that Jeziorki is no longer vulnerable to flooding after heavy rainfall. We can expect more and more anomalous weather events as climate change takes hold, so it's good to know that five million zlotys of tax-payers' money is being spent on ensuring that houses in this part of Jeziorki are not under threat of flooding.

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