Orlík Dam is a dam in the Vltava basin whose water level is falling in 2026 because of drought.

Aerial view of the dam and lower section of Orlík Dam on the Vltava river, central Bohemia, 2009
Aerial view of the dam and lower section of Orlík Dam on the Vltava river, central Bohemia, 2009Photo: Karelj, 2009 · public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Orlík Dam is a dam in the Vltava basin. In 2026 its water level fell because of the long-term unfavourable hydrological situation and a lack of rainfall.[1][2]

Drought in 2026

According to the Czech News Agency, Orlík Dam began reducing its outflow on 4 September 2026 because of the falling water level. For the first time, Povodí Vltavy is using the water reserve from Slapy to maintain the necessary flow of the Vltava in Prague.[1] An extraordinary operating procedure at the Vrané water structure, which the Central Bohemian drought commission approved on 7 October 2026, is meant to slow the fall of the water level at Slapy and possibly also at Orlík until the situation improves thanks to rainfall.[1][2]

Chronology

  • — The regional drought commission declared a state of water shortage on the Vltava and the Elbe in Central Bohemia and permitted the minimum outflow from the Vltava Cascade at the Vrané water structure to be reduced from 35 to 20 cubic metres per second until 30 April 2027. → ČTK / České noviny Novinky.cz

Sources

  1. ČTK / České noviny
  2. Novinky.cz