Management of rainwater as a barrier for the development of the City of Warsaw

Abstract

The implementation of construction projects in Warsaw is associated with increasing difficulties in preparation, obtaining the relevant building permits and licences, partly due to the lack of water and sewage infrastructure and the inadequate management of rainwater in the city. All this leads to an increase in the cost of the construction projects undertaken. To illustrate a number of issues related to stormwater management in the city and the resulting problems, the study provides a number of different case studies, stylised facts and abductive conclusions to develop the best explanation for the existing problems. Specifically, the study presents the barriers to stormwater management in the city of Warsaw through an analysis of a hypothetical investment process (related to the Wawer Canal). The case studies analysed concern the deterioration of the “Bernardine Water” reservoir and the lack of appropriate investments in the Slużewiecki Stream catchment, as well as a number of conflicting conditions in stormwater management in Warsaw. In contrast, examples of successful investments in stormwater management are also shown, e.g. Radex Park Marywilska, Stegny Południe settlement, Fort Bema settlement in Bemowo. In this way it is shown that with the right approach it is possible to carry out construction investments in water and wastewater infrastructure in an appropriate way, thus avoiding many stormwater management problems. The main conclusion of the study is that insufficient consideration of stormwater drainage issues in spatial planning will lead to further flooding and increasing water management problems.