The story of water
Looking back: a success story
How Czech rivers have changed over the past fifty years — and why protecting them remains a continuing task.
Five stages of change
From visible pollution to challenges that cannot be seen with the naked eye
Cleaner water is the result of sustained work by municipalities, plant operators, industry and everyone caring for rivers. Each stage solved part of the problem and revealed the next one.
When rivers foamed
In the second half of the twentieth century, massive foam still appeared on the Vltava below Větřní and Český Krumlov.
Untreated industrial wastewater depleted oxygen and made pollution visible and tangible.
Cleaner rivers are a shared achievement
Decades of investment, regulation and daily operation created today’s water quality. The recast Directive carries that success into the challenges of the twenty-first century.