Vistula River Mouth - History and Recent Problems

The history of the Vistula River mouth exhibits the development of the hydrographic system of Żuławy lowlands caused by natural phenomena and human intervention. During its history, the Vistula River has changed the location of its direct connection with the Baltic Sea three times; the first (the Gdańsk Vistula) and the second (the Brave Vistula) river outlets were created by nature, while the recent one (the Vistula Cross-Cut) was man-made. Each of these locations faced similar problems, i.e. sedimentation in the river mouth leading to flooding problem in the surrounding region, intensified in winter by ice jams. The recent outlet, made as a short cut of the river reach in 1895, requires permanent maintenance as to diminish a flood risk for the surrounding areas due to sedimentation. Since the opening, its maintenance is carried out by elongation of jetties on both sides of the river mouth, and occasional dredging of sand. Presently, further elongation of jetties is proposed, however new methods to keep the river mouth should be considered.