Czech Republic leaders meet the MWRD; stormwater management and clean water learning exchange through 35 years of sister city relationship between Chicago and Prague

Commemorating 35 years of sister city collaboration, officials with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) welcomed a delegation of leaders from Prague and the Czech Republic for a cordial and illuminating discussion on how the two counterparts are managing stormwater and protecting the earth's resources.

The knowledge exchange was hosted by MWRD Chairman of Finance Marcelino Garcia and attended by Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda and Head of Emergency Management and Flood Protection Specialist Rene Hermansky. The Czech leaders and MWRD engineers in attendance shared their experiences in developing solutions to address stormwater management challenges during a period of unpredictable and intense rainstorms brought on by climate change.

"We are grateful for this opportunity to swap stories and exchange our experiences adapting to a new frontier in managing our precious water resources that expand the globe," said Chairman Garcia. "Together, engineers from around the world are proving through sharing innovation, data and expertise we can tackle many obstacles to ensure clean water and thriving communities."

The Czech delegation visited Chicago in honor of the 35th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Chicago and Prague. While in Chicago, they expressed interest in learning more about the Chicago region's approach to flooding and emergency management, making the MWRD an ideal match to share knowledge. In addition to Chairman Garcia, the Czech delegation heard from MWRD Director of Engineering Catherine O'Connor and MWRD Assistant Director of Engineering Kevin Fitzpatrick and MWRD Principal Civil Engineer Richard Fisher, who presented the group with strategies and stormwater management partnership programs the MWRD has implemented across Cook County to mitigate flooding.

"We hope this knowledge exchange strengthens our relationship with Prague and leads to informed decisions in protecting our water environment," said MWRD President Kari K. Steele. "Despite our distance apart, we address many of the same issues, and by gathering together we can hear how both cities are managing stormwater, protecting our waterways and treating wastewater."

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech republic. It is located on the Vltava River and has a population of 1.4 million while its metro area is home to 2.3 million people. Despite being thousands of years older than Chicago, Prague shares many of the same water management issues. Like the MWRD's engineered system of canals and waterways, originally reversed by the MWRD to protect public health and the quality and safety of drinking water, Prague also manages a complex Vltava River system that is managed through a system of upstream dams and reservoirs that protect downstream communities from flooding.

Now in his second term as mayor, having served previously from 2010 to 2013, and again since 2023, Mayor Svoboda said some of his priorities are energy, public safety and protecting water resources. He said mayors all over the world share common experiences addressing similar issues, especially learning how to deal with flooding and storms, while conserving and distributing water.

Chicago Sister Cities International (CSCI) is an initiative of World Business Chicago, a public-private, non-profit partnership that drives inclusive economic growth and job creation, supports business, and promotes Chicago as a leading global city. In 1960, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley signed the first Sister Cities agreement with Warsaw, Poland. Celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, CSCI now has 28 sister cities in almost every region of the world, including Prague.

"We were honored to welcome Mayor Svoboda and his delegation to Chicago as we celebrated the 35th Anniversary of our sister city relationship and Czech Heritage Week," said Adrienne Tongate, executive vice president for Global Strategic Initiatives at World Business Chicago. "Their visit emphasized the power of citizen diplomacy and the importance of sharing best practices between our cities. We are especially grateful to the Prague Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International for their leadership and to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago for hosting the delegation. We look forward to the continued collaboration that will grow from this exchange!"