The STORMWATER POLAND 2020 conference has come to an end.

During 3 days the conference participants experienced a rain of inspiration. We hope that they were valuable ideas and suggestions that they will bring to their cities and companies.

This year the conference began with a workshop.

As part of the first workshop: “Crisis management and product innovation in the field of rainwater management”, the participants went first to the Municipal Flood Warehouse where they learned about the crisis management scenarios used by the City of Gdańsk and looked at the equipment used in the event of a flood. Then they went to the conference showroom, which was created especially for this event. There, they had the opportunity to observe and experience how the most innovative rainwater management technologies work, prepared by industry leaders. Participants saw, among others what does the extrusion welding show, rainwater set or tree planting system look like? A detailed description of the presented devices can be found in the Rainwater Showroom tab The second workshop: “Issuing and verification of technical conditions for rainwater” gathered 40 people from public administration and water supply companies who, under the guidance of the best Retentionapl experts, were educated on what tools to use when issuing conditions, how to calculate maximum outflows and take correct parameters, how to implement procedures in a water supply company. The exchange of experiences with specialists allowed to raise and discuss many difficult and interesting examples. We invite you to watch the report: https://youtu.be/W2rIRYtjszo

The first day of the conference

The conference part began on March 4. The auditorium gathered 360 people who listened to 28 lectures on rainwater.

The conference was officially opened by the President of Retention Tomasz Grochowski, as well as Deputy Mayor of the City of Gdańsk Piotr Borawski and Deputy President of the PGW Woda Polskie Ms Joanna Kopczyńska.

We started the session with such important aspects as the challenges posed by the climate. During this session, participants received the answer how the increase in temperature translates into changes in the hydrological cycle, at what stage of adaptation to change we are in Europe, where to look for sources of financing adaptation to climate change drainage systems, what engineering and management tools to use to develop the best adaptation strategies . Many questions arose after the speech of dr Małgorzata Stolarska, who told about the project: Stop Drought. The words that ended Mrs. Stolarska’s presentation sounded strongly: “The goal is very important: securing water for future generations!” Professor Jacek Piskozub presented a no less pessimistic vision related to changes in sea level.

The second session began with an extremely inspirational lecture by Dr. Suresh Kumar Rohilla from India, who told about the experience of obtaining water in India. Undoubtedly, the example of this country shows how important role in the strategy of securing access to water is rainwater management. Many questions were also raised by the presentation of Mr. Józef Jeliński discussing the issue of revitalization of rivers and streams in the urban landscape. We certainly have a lot to do in this area in Poland. Professor Agnieszka Generowicz also attracted interest, who talked about using rainwater to clean the streets and the impact of this activity on dust and smog in the city. Many questions also appeared about green roofs, which are becoming more and more popular in Polish cities and perform not only a retention function, but also can significantly reduce the adverse effects of so-called “Heat islands”. The last two lectures on this session are extremely inspiring examples of how cities deal with rainwater management. Practical case study was presented by Mr. Andrzej Wójtowicz from Słupsk Waterworks and Mr. Paweł Dąbrowski from the City Hall in Rumia.

The day ended with a We’re digital session during which the speakers presented various IT solutions that help monitor and manage rainwater. During this session, the organizers also presented their project of the Polish Atlas of Rain Strength PANDa, which ends in March this year. More about the project in the video: https://youtu.be/rWBgtQZGFO0