SUMMARY OF THE HUNGARIAN GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF WATER MANAGEMENT (OVF)

 

In embrace of the Carpathian Mountains, Hungary has a peculiar geographical and hydrographical feature, which causes that the activity of water management and water right has a significant and highly valuable tradition since the beginning of the times of the Ausro-Hungarian Monarchy.

In historic times, during the reign of the queen Maria Theresa, for the initiation of „Szatmár” county, the XIV^th law in the year 1751 was released. This was the first national law in order to stop the flood damages and to improve the navigation in Hungary. After that time the direction of the water management improved step by step and it gained greater and greater importance.

It was decided to found the directorates of Water Management in 1953. The General Directorate of Water Management (OVF), – which institute is the successor of the former Central Directorate for Water and Environment (VKKI) and supervises the local directorates of Water Management – was re-created on the 1^st January 2012.

The other successor of VKKI is the newly founded National Environment Institute (NeKI). Due to the separation, the duties of VKKI were divided between the General Directorate of Water Management (OVF) and the National Environment Institute (NeKI).

Nowadays, the General Directorate of Water Management is an independently operating institute and a central government body under the direction and supervision of the Minister of Interior. The General Directorate of Water Management, – as a central governing body – supervises, coordinates and controls the professional activities of the water directorates.

 

The General Directorate of Water Management manages the professional duties of the following tasks:

• coordinates the flood damages related tasks in the plains, mountainous and hilly areas, the agricultural water supply; urban water management; as well as the flood control and drainage and the local water damage tasks,

• provides the operation of the National Technical Management Staff, as well as the Central Duty

• directs, coordinates and controls the professional activities ofthe water directorates.

• directs and coordinates the Vasarhelyi Plan’s Further Development (VTT) and other EU funded major projects of water related investment.

• directs and coordinates the operational tasks in connection with the central water records and the information systems,

• assumes the control over the professional activities of the water directorates concerning the management system in state-owned waters or economic conditions underlying their operation, also sets-up the national and regional water management strategy, plan and carry out the tasks of the international water management concept,

• determines the flood control and water management concept and also the strategy, work out a set of national and regional water damage control, water management programs and development plans, arranges their implementation and evaluation,

• supervises the availability of provided human resources for flood protection and the training of the defending personnel against any flood events,

• participates in transboundary and trans-border related tasks and in any arising international cooperation,

• works on the direction and coordination of all of the tasks arising by the construction, development and management of protection systems,

• participates in giving any information on a national-wide level about the protection against damages caused or might be caused by the water.

   

  Hungary is the only country in Europe that is located in its entirety in the basin of the river Danube. An optimal water management – either we examine the flood protection or the water supply service – can be fulfilled only by looking at the integrated river basin management.

  For this very reason, the General Directorate of Water Management (OVF) believes that it is highly important for the institute to keep a good and fruitful cooperation with the neighbouring countries.

  With all the seven neighbouring countries Hungary maintains a perpetual and good relation via the Transboundary Committees in order to complete the implementation of the harmonised measures in the water management. The consequent fulfilment of the Danube Strategy helps expend the harmonised cooperation for the entire river basin, which brings many advantages for all the countries in the basin and also the significant experiences of OVF can be well utilized.

A major outcome of this cooperation was the foundation of the Tisa Office, opened in November 2014 in Szolnok, taking over key issues from the Centre in Vienna, coordinating and harmonising the five countries’ water management along Tisa.

The General Directorate for Water Management and the local Directorates put a special emphasis on scientific studies. Professional conferences are organised for processing the practical experiences, with the involvement of the Scientific Comitee, the Hunagrian Hydrological Association and Eötvös József College – poseesing paramount importance in educating professionals – and other prestigous institutions, ensuring the high quality and successfulness of the events.

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