The actual water level in Biala Gora is maintained by a closed sluice and a three step weir where the rivers Nogat and Vistula meet. The reasons for the creation of the different levels are; to protect against flooding of the areas along the banks of the River Nogat from the higher volumes of water of the River Vistula, to allow for navigation of the River Nogat (from the River Vistula to the Vistula Lagoon) and to control the flow of water from the River Vistula into the River Nogat.

The point where the River Vistula divides into two main channels, known as the Promontory or the Montowski Corner, has long been one of the key elements of human activity on the River Vistula so the method used to divide the waters in the past was the source of much conflict. On this stretch of the Vistula the course of the river has changed many times which was the cause of catastrophic events. This was solved in the 19th and 20th centuries.

In the middle of the 19th century the so called great floodgate was built, an architecturally interesting structure, but the proper work on the actual water level began in 1912. The sluice was built into the levee on the right bank of the River Vistula. It is a structure made from concrete then clad in clinker bricks. The weir has barriers on both sides (between the River Vistula and the River Nogat). The sluice is 57m long and the weir is 9.5m wide.

Regional Water Management Board – Gdansk (woj. Pomorskie)

www.rzgw.gda.pl