{"id":2869,"date":"2026-01-20T12:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T12:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/?p=2869"},"modified":"2026-01-23T14:05:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:05:30","slug":"restoration-of-the-psata-river-a-two-day-professional-workshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/restoration-of-the-psata-river-a-two-day-professional-workshop\/","title":{"rendered":"Restoration of the P\u0161ata river: a two-day professional workshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

The P\u0161ata<\/strong> is an example of a river that for decades was treated primarily as an infrastructure problem\u2014through regulation works, channel deepening, and restricting the space available to the water. Today, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that this very approach is part of the reason why floods are more destructive, droughts more severe, and natural processes degraded. The LIFE2RIVERS<\/strong> project therefore raises the question of how to restore the P\u0161ata as a functioning river system\u2014gradually, thoughtfully, and in cooperation with the local community.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"Between 13 and 15 January, as part of the project we hosted two British experts, Dr George Heritage<\/strong> and Dr Rob Williamson<\/strong> from the company Dynamic Rivers<\/strong>, who together bring more than forty years of experience and over 50 river restoration projects carried out across the United Kingdom. Under their mentorship, a professional workshop was held focusing on exploring options for the restoration of the P\u0161ata<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On the first day, participants used models to examine how the P\u0161ata responds to different intervention scenarios. On the second day, these findings were verified directly in the field, where we collectively analyzed regulated sections, tributaries, and the rare remaining examples of functioning natural processes. The workshop brought together representatives of the LIFE2RIVERS project partners<\/strong>, as well as members from the Slovenian Water Agenc<\/strong>y (DRSV), the Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia<\/strong> (IzVRS), the institute for fauna and flora mapping (Center za kartografijo favne in flore<\/strong> – CKFF), the “LiVe reke Pesnice”<\/strong> group, and environemntal engineers from the company Tempos<\/strong>, enabling direct discussion across different fields of expertise.<\/p>\n

“The state of the river is poor \u2013 but the opportunities are surprisingly abundant.”<\/h4>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Both experts openly noted during their inspection of the P\u0161ata that they were initially negatively surprised by the river\u2019s level of degradation. \u201cAt first glance, you see a very simplified and confined system that no longer performs its natural functions,\u201d Heritage emphasized. However, this impression quickly changed in the field. \u201cWhen you start looking more closely, you see countless places where even small interventions can trigger significant changes. That\u2019s what gives optimism,\u201d Williamson added.<\/p>\n

According to them, the P\u0161ata is by no means a hopeless case. On the contrary\u2014precisely because of the extensive regulation, it is often clearly visible where the system is failing and where gradual measures could improve the condition of the entire river basin.<\/p>\n

What does the restoration of the P\u0161ata mean?<\/h4>\n

Restoring a river or a river section does not mean returning it to an idealized past, nor constructing new structures in the riverbed. It means understanding the river as a system and allowing natural processes to once again play their role in shaping the space\u2014creating conditions for nature to recover and, in turn, improving the quality of life for people.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A river is not just a flow of water between two banks. It is an entire river system<\/strong>, which includes the riverbed, floodplain, tributaries, groundwater, and sediment transport. When this system is heavily regulated, water flows faster, flood peaks are higher, droughts more severe, and nature loses space.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you take space away from a river, it will take that space back at some point\u2014usually when it is least convenient for us,\u201d Heritage warned.<\/p>\n

Restoring the P\u0161ata therefore means returning space to the water where possible, improving connections with tributaries, slowing down the flow, and utilizing natural processes that naturally mitigate floods and retain water in the landscape. All of this can be complemented with the construction of engineering structures where absolutely necessary to ensure people\u2019s safety.<\/p>\n

Why is this important right now?<\/h4>\n

Climate change brings more extremes\u2014both floods and droughts. Traditional measures, which focus mainly on channel reinforcement and higher embankments, often just shift the problems downstream. International experience shows that naturally functioning rivers:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Mitigate flood peaks and reduce flood risk;<\/li>\n
  • Retain water during dry periods and improve the landscape\u2019s overall water balance;<\/li>\n
  • Improve water quality through natural self-purification processes;<\/li>\n
  • Create more stable conditions for agriculture;<\/li>\n
  • Restore and connect habitats along rivers;<\/li>\n
  • Increase biodiversity;<\/li>\n
  • Strengthen the resilience of river and riparian ecosystems;<\/li>\n
  • Enhance the overall resilience of the landscape to climate change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    As Heritage emphasized: \u201cPeople have become accustomed to highly degraded rivers and perceive them as normal. But when you see a restored section, you understand what a river is capable of if we allow it. Observing such a river brings great satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Next step: co-creating with local communities<\/h4>\n

    In March, consultation workshops will begin in the P\u0161ata river basin<\/strong>, taking place across all five municipalities through which the P\u0161ata flows: Cerklje na Gorenjskem, Komenda, Menge\u0161, Trzin, and Dom\u017eale. The goal of the workshops is to involve residents already in the phase of identifying the most suitable locations<\/strong> for potential interventions, rather than only once decisions have been made. This marks the beginning of co-creative stewardship of the P\u0161ata<\/strong> and a shift toward bottom-up management\u2014where local communities not only receive information but also have a real opportunity to help shape the river\u2019s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The P\u0161ata is an example of a river that for decades was treated primarily as an infrastructure problem\u2014through regulation works, channel deepening, and restricting the space available to the water. Today, however, it is becoming increasingly clear that this very approach is part of the reason why floods are more destructive, droughts more severe, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-novice-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2869"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2873,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869\/revisions\/2873"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/life2rivers.si\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}