VÚVH follows the tradition established by the State Hydrological Institute (Státní ústav hydrologický, SÚV), a joint Czechoslovak institution founded in Prague in 1919 as one of the first scientific institutes in the common state of Czechs and Slovaks. SÚV was subsequently transformed into the Prague-based Water Research Institute (Výzkumný ústav vodohospodářský, VÚV) staffed by Czech and Slovak scientists specialising in hydrology, hydraulics and water quality management. In 1951, academician Prof. Ing. Dr. Oto Dub, DrSc. set up a VÚV branch in Bratislava: the Water Research Institute (Výskumný ústav vodného hospodárstva, VÚVH), the research activities of which largely focused on hydrology, hydraulics and water quality management. The Institute became independent in 1968, when it was transformed into a state-funded organisation belonging to the Ministry of Forestry and Water Management of the Slovak Republic. Since 1995, it has been operating as a subsidised organisation under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment.
In its early years, our Institute conducted research mostly in surface-water and groundwater hydrology, and in hydraulic engineering, mainly because many important hydraulic engineering projects were undertaken in Slovakia during that period. The implementation of these projects was preceded by hydraulic research carried out in our physical modelling facilities. An important milestone for the Institute was 1958, when its Bratislava headquarters opened on the Danube’s left bank. This enabled the Institute’s research units to unify in one place rather than being spread across the city. The physical modelling facilities were extended to include an external field laboratory in Vajnory (Bratislava), where hydraulic research could be conducted for complex and large-scale hydraulic engineering schemes.
During that time, applied research in hydraulics aimed to assess the pre-construction design of water engineering structures (e.g. the Váh cascade and Veľká Domaša dam/reservoir). In the 1970s, a major project was the design of a hydropower plant at Liptovská Mara. In the 1980s and 1990s, extensive hydraulic research was carried out in connection with the design of the layout and structures of the Gabčíkovo hydroelectric scheme, including Čunovo weir. Leading hydraulic research specialists at that time were Rohan, Čábelka, Brachtl, Komora, Štich, Sikora, Parikrupa, Gabriel, Grund, Vincent, Štich, Kališ and Sumbal, whose expertise and research work were renowned worldwide. Numerous major projects – such as Samara hydropower plant (Iraq) and Mangla hydropower plant (Pakistan) – were designed on the basis of physical models built and tested in our hydraulic laboratories.
In addition to applied research, theoretical research was also conducted during those times, especially research into the hydraulic resistance coefficients of open channels (bottom and vegetation roughness) and boulder weirs (Vincent), the shape coefficients of weir structures (Laco), and research on ice phenomena (Brachtl). Žajdlík conducted extensive research in mechanical hydraulics (pipes and pipe closures). The 1990s saw rapid progress in computational modelling, which enabled us to simulate the transformation of flood waves (including wave-breaking), water flow in open channels, sediment transport, reservoir siltation, and many other hydraulic issues under various flow conditions. Numerous 1D and 2D computer programs were consequently developed at our Institute by a team including Gabriel, Kališ, Harton, Květoň, Lahoda, Bačík, Kľúčovská, etc.
In the 1950s to 1970s, research in river hydrology and morphology focused mainly on the Danube and its branch system, initially in connection with flood protection and navigation, and later owing to the construction of the Gabčíkovo hydropower scheme (Szolgay, Náther). Hydrological research was gradually extended to cover other important Slovak rivers as well. In that period, Ján Szolgay established a new workplace for the study of issues related to quantitative river and reservoir morphology. Experimental measurements of sediment transport during 1998-2006 followed up on the study of Danube sediment transport from that time. The investigation of sediment transport along the Danube, including experimental measurements, continue to be considered unique. Further research activities assessed both the status of water reservoirs included in the ‘Erosion-sedimentation atlases of Slovak reservoirs’, and human impacts on the morphological development of rivers included in the ‘Hydromorphological atlases of Slovak rivers’ (Hron, Nitra, and subsequently the Morava).
Research activities in surface flow hydrology focused primarily on assessing the regime of flood and ice discharges in Slovak rivers, and on revising the operating manuals of hydraulic structures – dams, weirs, etc. (Procházka, Vencianerová, Stančíková, Benický). Our Hydrology Division played a major role – in cooperation with the International Hydrological Programme (IHP UNESCO) – in research on national, regional and global issues related to water management. Experimental research into the vertical hydrologic balance of floodplains has long been conducted at our research stations in Žihárec and Senec (Petrovič, Gavenčiak). Quantitative assessments of groundwater bodies and their interaction with surface waters (Mišút, Lindtner, Grandtnerová) were performed mostly in connection with the construction of hydraulic engineering structures and later also as part of a broader focus.
Requirements for water-quality assessment came to the fore in the 1950s in connection with Slovakia’s industrial development. A pioneer in this field was Professor Boško, who started to build a workplace for water sampling and sample analysis at the former State Hydrological Institute in Bratislava. The new workplace mainly performed comprehensive water-quality analyses to determine the biological, chemical and microbiological properties of water. Its research staff (Sokolíková, Antoničová, Bogatyrev, Antonič, Jacko, Šterbová, Onderíková, Janáková, Stankovič, Gambatý, Biliková, etc.) gradually mapped the country’s water resources in terms of quality. The increasing number of water-related issues necessitated specialisations within the Institute (separate groups for wastewater, surface water and groundwater, and for biology and microbiology).
Water contamination with oil (petroleum substances) was a major problem in the 1960s and 1970s. Subsequent related research focused on water-quality changes caused by the construction of reservoirs, and on water pollution from industry and agriculture. Our Institute lacked a separate analytical unit at that time, but respective departments gradually developed analytical procedures for the detection of other pollutants in waters and sediments. This work can be attributed to Lehocký, Draková, Hässler, Zekeová, Hanzlíková, Rippa, Rothschein and Németh. As the analytical tasks came to surpass the limits of individual departments, a new designated unit was formed in 1966 (the Division of Hydroanalytical Laboratories – subsequently the National Water Reference Laboratory of Slovakia).
