Flood protection activities of the Company
Budapest protects itself independent, incorporated into the national flood protection system.
Currently, it is the decree of the Municipality of Budapest number 47/1994 on "The fight against flood and inland water" that regulates the tasks related to the performance of protection and its official supervision, the tasks to be done before the state of protection readiness, actual protection and post-protection. It also regulates the execution of special tasks of fight against inland water.
The Budapest Sewage Works takes on the flood and inland water protection tasks since its foundation in 1946 and it constitutes one of its core activities since its reorganization in 1998.
Since the final receptor of the wastewater network and of small streams is the Danube, our Company did not receive this task by coincidence.
According to the contract concluded with the Municipality of Budapest, the task of our Company is the operational protection and the operation of the flood protection works and small streams up to the existing level of construction. This means that no delusion (suffusion) can happen in the areas protected through flood protection works until these receive a load ranging up to the limit of their sizing.
Flood and inland water protection has three levels. In case of level one, we organize a supervision duty, that is to say our experts visit the protection lines on a regular basis and report their observations.
After the ordering of the second level, we close the flood gates of the public sewers and forward incoming waters into the receptor via pumps.
In case of third level, we execute the closing of the breakthroughs of the protection lines (road and pedestrian crossings) and start the temporary pump stations. At this point, a continuous and reinforced lookout service controls all points of the protection line.
Extraordinary state of readiness is ordered when a water level exceeding the third level is expected. Such state of readiness last happened in 2006.
Until the ordering of the extraordinary state of readiness, FCSM performs its work through its own experts, machine park, materials as well as with the matters made available by the municipality.
We pursue our activities on a 88.9 km long main flood protection line and on a 186 km long small stream and ditch system. During protection, our most important task is the smooth pumping of incoming waters from the saved side, the closing of the breakthroughs of various purpose of the flood protection lines, shore protection and the efficient elimination of harmful flood phenomena occurring in case of lasting high water levels.
The Budapest Sewage Works has regularly participated in flood protection and exemption works outside the area of Budapest as well.
In 1997, we have performed exemption works in Wroclaw, Poland.
In 1998, we have helped in eliminating the flood catastrophe inflicting Petrozsény, Romania, through considerable manpower and technical equipment.
In June 1999, we took part in the damage decreasing works of the basin catastrophe in the Ipoly region, in the area of Kemence-Bernecebaráti.
In 2000, we have provided several ten thousand sandbags and significant technical equipment to the fight against the first Tisza-valley flood.
We were also present through considerable forces during the elimination of the significant second flood catastrophe inflicting the Tisza-valley in 2001. We provided effective help in the protection and post-flood works of the townships of Gergelyiugornya and Tarpa.
In 2005, we helped the townships of Mátrakeresztes and Mád in the cleaning of the sewer network after the rainstorm.
The experts of the Budapest Sewage Works have several decades of flood protection practice and experience. Their expertise is recognised among the persons active in the industry both in Hungary and abroad. This is also proven by the numerous state, industrial and municipal recognitions that they received after the flood protection works of 2002 and 2006.