EPTISA will prepare the flood risk maps and the flood hazard maps for the Republic of Serbia

A multidisciplinary team of experts will produce a set of maps of the flood prone areas in Serbia which will be then incorporated into the national Water Management Information System, also created by a consortium led by EPTISA.

The Regional Office for Southeast Europe of EPTISA has recently been awarded a new contract in the Republic of Serbia. The project, financed by the EU’s IPA programme, is designed to assist Serbia, a potential candidate country to become a member of the European Union, in the required harmonisation with the European Flood Directive, in the fulfilment of their reporting obligations in the field of integrated water resources management, and in the overall protection from flooding.

The present state of flood protection in Serbia is still inadequate. First of all, floods endanger a considerable part of the country. In addition, a significant flood risk is present even where flood protection systems have been developed. A long-lasting practice of low investments into the regular maintenance led to a significant decrease of the structural reliability, which lowered the designed degree of protection. In order to alleviate this situation, the Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Serbia has allocated 2 million Euro to assist the Serbian authorities in the preparation of flood hazard and flood risk maps, which will be then incorporated into Flood Risk Management Plans.

For the next two years, a group of experts from EPTISA will prepare flood hazard and flood risk maps for the project area, following the directions set in the EU Flood Directive. The GIS-based floods maps shall be then incorporated into the national Water Management Information System, also created by a consortium led by EPTISA under another EU-funded project, and in the regional and local spatial plans, serving as a management tool for flood protection and spatial planning in future years.

The IPA programme reflects the European Union’s solid commitment to assist Serbia and other seven countries in the region in the economic development and institutional reforms necessary to eventually become EU member states. The project team and all the staff from EPTISA feel privileged to be able to make a small contribution in this demanding and exciting process.

For more information about this project, please contact the Project Director, Mr. Alvaro Diez: adiez@eptisa.com