Kaposvár’s ‘sponge city’ development could serve as a national model programme

Eight sites in the county town of Somogy are set to see the implementation of projects relating to water retention and rainwater harvesting. Károly Szita, the mayor of Kaposvár, spoke about the projects in a video posted on his social media page.

Comprehensive developments have laid the foundations for the security of water and energy supplies

The mayor gave a lengthy account of the measures and developments of recent years, which were aimed at ensuring the security of energy and water supplies. Among these, he mentioned that one of the country’s most advanced waste management systems is operated here, and that solar panels have been installed on numerous public buildings in the town to ensure the sustainable operation of nurseries and schools.

A biomass-fired heating plant has been built to keep district heating prices stable. Károly Szita also touched upon developments relating to public transport: the local bus fleet is being replaced with electric vehicles, which will be powered by a solar farm equipped with storage capacity. New drinking water wells are being drilled to ensure a secure water supply.

It was the first town in the country to roll out smart street lighting across the entire town

In Kaposvár, a smart street lighting system has been installed as part of an energy efficiency initiative. The largest street lighting refurbishment programme in Kaposvár’s history was carried out using approximately 1.7 billion forints of local authority funding. The project involved replacing all 9,628 streetlights on the city’s streets and installing 175 new ones, the latter of which will „connect” the Töröcske gated community to the public lighting network. Thanks to modern LED light sources and smart solutions, Kaposvár can save 40 per cent of its annual public lighting costs of 550 million forints. The project enables the brightness of the streetlights to be monitored via a centralised system and adjusted according to demand.

Rainwater from rooftops is collected in rain gardens

The city’s objective is to become the most sustainable city in the country. To this end, eight investment projects will be carried out at eight locations across Kaposvár in the coming period. These include channelling and collecting rainwater running off the roofs of high-rise buildings into designated rain gardens in green spaces.
Permeable paving will be installed in some of the housing estate car parks. This ‘sponge city’ system will prevent lower-lying parts of the town from flooding during downpours and flash floods, whilst the stored water can be used during periods of drought, said the mayor.

The River Kapos will also be included in the project

Plans include making the section of the River Kapos running through the city centre accessible to the public. On the Kapos riverbank section of Jókai Park, a river sill would be constructed to ensure a constant water level, whilst the installation of lighting and wooden steps would provide a pleasant environment for walkers, the mayor explained.
An application to implement this comprehensive programme was submitted at the start of the year; it was reviewed by the planning committee and recommended as a national model. The Kaposvár local authority is awaiting the government’s decision on the application; the mayor hopes they will be given the opportunity to realise their plans using funding from the grant scheme, he added.

They are greening the main square

The recently announced project to develop the main square is also in line with Kaposvár’s sustainability efforts. With a view to mitigating the effects of climate change, Kaposvár’s main square is being renovated. As part of the works on Kossuth Square, funded by a half-billion forint grant from the European Union, the fountain will be modernised, the size of the green spaces and the number of container plants will be increased, and more plants that are better suited to the urban environment will be planted.