There are many rivers underneath Łódź. Hidden under a dense grid of streets, they flow in canals. The city wants to uncover a few to make the space more attractive. Work has begun so that the Lamus River will be exposed in a selected section.
The Lamus River is 2 km long. It currently flows through the centre of Łódź in an underground channel. Years ago, it was used by the Lamus family as the water flowed into their water mill. In 1842, the mill and the land around it were taken over in perpetual lease by the factory owner and industrialist Traugott Grohman. The river was used by him in the mechanical cotton spinning mill built on Tylna Street.
Lodz officials want to use the river again. This time, however, it will serve a decorative function. The section of the river that flows through Kilińskiego Park is to be uncovered and resting infrastructure built around the riverbed.
Flowing underground for more than 100 years, the Lodz River Lamus is returning to the surface! Work has now begun on the project. Thesection of the river that currently flows through Kilińskiego Park will be uncovered and infrastructure for visitors will be built above it, Hanna Zdanowska, Mayor of Łódź, announced on her Facebook profile.
The first stage of the work is to survey the park area. Explorations will be made to determine the extent of the tree roots. At the same time, the condition of the underground Lamus sewer is being checked. The contractor for the work is Park-M Poland. Funding for the project to uncover the river comes from the EU Pilot Projects and Preparatory Actions programme. The city will receive PLN 15 million.
In addition to the unveiling of the river, a metamorphosis of Kilińskiego Park is planned. The river is to flow in its natural riverbed and be exposed in the park. Terraces and descents to the water are planned at the riverbed. There will be new urban furniture in the park and the alleys will be covered with a new water-permeable surface.
Simply uncovering the river does not guarantee the creation of a beautiful green leisure area. The Lamus River is small; in order to ensure a continuous current, the city would have to take care of its catchment areas a few hundred metres earlier. However, this would involve action on a larger scale. The city’s concrete pavements limit the absorption of water into the soil, as a result of which, after heavy rains, the water runs off into the drains and impetuously ends up in the rivers. Ideally, rainwater should gently soak into the soil and feed rivers with groundwater. Lodz’s watercourses should act as a shared ecosystem. Let’s hope the unveiling of the Lamus River is the first step in this direction.
source: UM Łódź, łódź.pl
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Rivers in Łódź:
