Flow in open channels under the influence of ice cover

During winters in Poland, lakes, ponds, rivers, channels, run-of-reservoirs, ditches and streams are covered with ice, which changes significantly the flow and thermal conditions in water bodies. The paper presents a very complicated process of ice formation on stagnant and flowing waters. Various kinds of ice are described together with their consequences for flow and thermal conditions. The possibility to define flow conditions in open channels with ice cover is described. In 1982, a significant flood on Włocławek Reservoir (Lower Vistula River) appeared, which was caused by the coincidence of unfavourable, extreme hydrological and meteorological conditions. These conditions, as well as the run and consequences of the flood, are described. Detailed field measurements of ice cover and flow were carried out. One-dimensional model for steady nonuniform flow was developed and applied to the conditions existing in 1982 on the Włocławek Reservoir.