Nature is to blame for the lack of sponge cities

Half an hour of heavy rain is enough to turn cars into gondolas and streets into waterways. The authorities, we have become accustomed to, blame the weather and the centuries-old infrastructure, which is no longer coping. But what is our fault? We look to the sky or to our elected officials, believing the same campaign promises that come in spades and get lost in the catacombs of decisions that hide incompetence and inadequacy. Even the level of civilization of the Romanians leaves a lot to be desired, not only the hostile nature. Only they are not to blame! Because they have the right of the criminal!

I saw the seafront being transformed into Venice at the weekend. So, huh? You will say. Is this your first time? No! Find out that there are large cities flooded with every heavy rain. The resița sinks even after some rains which are not quantitatively significant. People watch helplessly as the streams enter yards and houses, take their cars and cut down trees.

The previous and current mayor of Reșița also explained the causes: “We have three types of problems. The first relates to the location of the city, in the valley. There are quite steep slopes, which carry water that no rainwater system can hold, because it is not sized to take that much water, in the short term. The second problem is subjective and it belongs to the years 2014, 2015, when storm drains were blocked with asphalt and were no longer opened. We are in the phase where we are carrying out investigations, because they have to be located about 50 meters apart, we are trying to guess where they were and find them. Another problem, also of a technical nature, which is unfortunately in Resita, but I am convinced that it is in every city in Romania, in many areas household water is mixed with rainwater, which leads to backflows on pipes and creates true madness. Here are the causes.” So far! But do you know something? Causes were identified 5 years ago. And they were still being identified!

The mayor of Caransebeș was talking about cutting down forests, which has a big influence. “No one thinks about the origin of this problem, everyone blames the local administration and the sewage system. These systems, when they were built, were not calibrated for situations like this. There is also the problem of the fact that the world is not civilized and throws all kinds of things into the canals and toilets which simply clog the system. All this gives a complete picture of the situation.” So the blame is shared between nature, local authorities and the rest of us.

You have to have the ability to catch, we all agree. I don’t know how we would manage to do something like this in the cities now, because the infrastructure has been built over. And the problem is handed over by politicians to experts.

Over time, millions of euros in damage have accumulated, due to flooding, people’s houses have been swept away by floods, agricultural lands have been flooded…

But what can you see, there are solutions and not from yesterday…. The sponge cities! A solution that uses nature, ie green infrastructure and drainage systems. This applies to China, which has been faced over the years with devastating floods, it also applies to Europe or Nigeria. Such a city does not only mean planting more trees, expanding parks or improving sewage, says euronews.green. Water management in a city means isolating the streets so that some of the water is drained and some is evaporated. Then cover buildings with green spaces that can hold water.

Kongjian Yu, a Chinese architect, landscape designer and urban development engineer says that urban infrastructure needs to be reconsidered to better cope with these events. “A city designed to prioritize water management will be useful, not only for water management and storage, but also for bird and plant species that can create a very good recreational area for citizens.”

Nanco Dolman, who works for the Dutch civil engineering company Royal Haskoning, said, “green design can be more than green roofs or rainforests, it can be a revolutionary way to rethink the fabric of a city.”

As for us, even thinking about such a project? But instead of choosing that, we better double the state budget compensation for flood victims. Families and single people affected by flooding will also receive emergency aid from the state this year. Recently, a decision by the Government was modified by another, HG 998/2023, in the sense of doubling the allocated budget, from 7,000,000 lei, to 14,000,000 lei.

Therefore, money is for the effects and we leave the causes drowning, that there is too much trouble with this and with optional home insurance, which are born scared in some campaigns and die, just as scared.