Comparison of water regimes of two dump catchments in the Krušné hory Mts. (Czech Republic) in dry years using a hydrological balance

The dump catchments water regime optimization is one of fundamental recultivation operations in areas devastated after surface coal mining. Two dump catchments (at Radovesice and Loket in the Krušné hory Mts., Czech Republic) were selected to study whether their hydrological balance allows to keep life in them on a sufficiently natural level. The WBCM-6 water balance model was implemented. Different hydrological conditions of the mentioned dump catchments located ca. 90 km apart were compared. The Radovesice catchment lies in a precipitation shadow and suffers from a much greater precipitation deficiency than the Loket one. Its long-term annual precipitation deficit makes about 100 mm. Based on the analysis of the dry year 2003 growing season, biotechnical hydrological measures, in particular cascades of small reservoirs, were proposed.