The aim of the paper is to draw attention to the broader context of increased nitrate concentrations in the Březová nad Svitavou water source, which is the largest source of underground drinking water in the Czech Republic. It supplies the Brno agglomeration and other surrounding municipalities with quality drinking water with a total volume of 27 million cubic meter per year. Based on the results of the experiments carried out so far, it is possible to describe some undesirable effects of soil degradation caused by the long-term use and overuse of industrial nitrogen fertilizers. There are adverse changes in physical, chemical and biological characteristics. The subsoil is compacted, it is difficult for crops to penetrate into greater depths, the root system is deformed, and as a result the plants are more sensitive to drought. The easiest solution in this most vulnerable area would be to change conventional farming into organic one. If there would be not enough goodwill and necessary resources for this change, the authors of the study recommend a significant, if not complete, reduction of mineral fertilization and the maximum possible reduction of applications of plant protection products. Missing nutrients could be delivered through compost, possibly through composted biochar, by changing of crop rotation, by multi-species intercrops or covercrops, etc. In the proposed modifications could be expected deeper rooting into the soil, progressive regeneration of soil life and thus also the water regime in the landscape.

Microbial contamination of drinking water can be caused by various factors, i.e. failure of the treatment process, the human factor, the defect in the distribution network, etc. Currently culture techniques based on the detection of fecal pollution indicator organisms and determining the total number of microorganisms are used as “golden” standard. These methods, however, are limited only to culturable organisms which comprise only a small percentage in the environment, and are quite time consuming. For this reason, researchers have been trying already for decades to find alternative methods, which in certain situations could substitute cultivation methods. Within the project FV10312 Biosensors for detection of bacterial contamination of drinking water, a number of biosensors (“sensor molecules”) have been synthesized and tested for their specificity to the cell surface of E. coli.

The paper describes the preparatory processes and activities leading to the gradual transition to drinking water supply of the centre of Vsetín city without the use of chlorine-based disinfectants. The preparatory phase for this mode of operation has been running for a year. The entire transition process will follow a pre-prepared schedule. A necessary part of the transition process is also an initial assessment of whether the entire water supply system is suitable for this type of operation. Subsequently the technical condition of the water supply infrastructure must be performed. There will also be executed a controlled flushing of the whole water distribution system and subsequent increased monitoring of selected water quality indicators at several sampling points.

The effort to make labour easier is as old as mankind itself. This paper wants to point out some generally tolerated deficiencies in well equipment (casing) including some problems in the behaviour of commonly used materials in well casing.

Reports on drought in the Czech Republic, as presented in the media and in news releases of government institutions, are overstated. Natural course of climate is not accepted and data on groundwater are distorted. Nobody but ourselves should be blamed for some of the effects of “drought”, which result from a misconduct in drilling and casing installation in wells and boreholes for heat pumps as well as from anthropogenic interventions in landscape. landscape.

In Amendment Z1 of ČSN 75 5455, annexes B, C and G, respectively, a new method of computational flow in the internal water supply piping, calculation of longitudinal heat loss and an example of calculation of the internal water supply are important.

An important task of the present is the preparedness of the Czech Republic for more frequent and intense drought episodes. One of the partial issues is also the evaluation of the importance of water resources protection zones in order to fulfill their function not only in the normal situation, but also in dry seasons. The paper contains the following parts: experience from the analysis of pilot areas, protection zones as an operative or preventive tool in drought, protection of yield, protection of groundwater infiltration areas, protection zones as a reflection of time of its creation, national database of protection zones, professional level of protection zone proposals, structure of risk assessment in proposals of protection zones.

Measuring and control devices as well as other HVAC systems, run through their lifecycle, at the end of which the system needs to be reconstructed. A key condition for a successful retrofit is to determine the required life of the refurbished equipment.

Water and sewerage systems are known from ancient Greece and Rome. The aqueducts were made of burnt clay or lead. Besides archaeological finds, there are also aqueducts and written testimonies. Sewerage was mainly made of bricks, the most famous of which is the Roman sewer Cloaca maxima from the 6^th century BC.

The paper deals with the analysis of thermal losses of pipe distributions in the small solar system model created in the TRNSYS energy simulation tool. Attention is paid to the impact of heat loss through pipelines on the overall energy balance. Several variants of pipe lengths for one type of system have been selected. The results presented in the articles illustrate the influence of different pipe lengths on heat losses and the consequent impact on the energy balance of the monitored system.

By applying preventive measures and using risk management, we can achieve a secure system and eliminate costly solutions. The order of danger of infection sources is very difficult to determine unambiguously.

The article describes basic principles of the SBToolCZ green building assessment methodology stressing its up-to-date methods for school buildings. An example of a certified school is given. Renovation of this school was assessed and optimised by the SBToolCZ system which lead to the conversion into intelligent, zero energy building.

In July 2018, a two-year monitoring of the FENIX Group a.s. in Jeseník. During this time, different battery operating modes were applied to test their capabilities to ensure the power operation of the object. This article describes the entire period in terms of energy flows in the building. The key parameters are energy consumption, supply to the grid, self-sufficiency of the building from the photovoltaic source and its local use. A number of articles have been written about the building, detailing the building and energy aspects [1, 2]. Therefore, the description of the energy economy in the building will be given only to the extent necessary for a general view of the building's energy.

The methodology for determining energy-neutral or energy-zero houses is different at national levels. The interest in the realization of such houses is not only influenced by the methodology but also by the market conditions in the area of moving surplus energy production from one object to another. This is an economically disadvantageous purchase price when delivering to the network. If the existing conditions in the Czech Republic are not changed, the implementation of energy-zero houses for investors will not be interesting and the potential for reduction of CO₂ production will not be utilized.

Where is the biggest obstacle to implementing rainwater management? What is the right motivation? What is the effect of the exemption from the drainage water drainage payment? What are the experiences with plants on building façades? And what are the investment and operating costs of a green roof?

The methodology for determining energy-neutral or energy-zero houses is different at national levels. The interest in the realization of such houses is not only influenced by the methodology but also by the market conditions in the area of moving surplus energy production from one object to another. This is an economically disadvantageous purchase price when delivering to the network. If the existing conditions in the Czech Republic are not changed, the implementation of energy-zero houses for investors will not be interesting and the potential for reduction of CO₂ production will not be utilized.

The notion of a nearly zero building, usually NZEB or nZEB, is no longer a novelty. This energy standard was introduced in 2016 and is gradually expanding into family houses. There are legislation, standards, but little has been gained. That's why the authors analyzed 130 already existing family houses with different heat sources. The result is an assessment of the influence of different heat sources on the energy intensity of homes and therefore an orientation aid for decision-makers of future builders.

The article focuses in detail on the effect of the storage tank size on the yearly balance of the photovoltaic power plant using a 10-minute calculation step that will allow us to take a closer look at the processes associated with the production of electricity, the hot water consumption and its accumulation. The results are assessed not only from the point of view of the energy balance, but also from the point of view of economic advantage.

By replacing the non-condensing gas boiler with condensing is connected with the necessity to solve the condensate drain from the boiler into the sewer. For boilers, especially in households, it may be as simple as introducing condensate into the flushing cistern of the WC. The article discusses operational and hygienic contexts. The conclusion is that without the additional installation of a special fitting – the pipe separator into the drinking water supply to the cistern, it is a solution that is inconsistent with current regulations and cannot be recommended.

The aim of the paper is to highlight the most common mistakes in sizing of domestic hot water (hereinafter only DHW) storage tanks and heat sources for DHW preparation. The article describes two basic ways of designing: Method using heat supply and demand curves of the DHW preparation system and Method of priority DHW preparation. Sizing of the DHW storage tank should primarily correspond to the used heat source and expected hot water consumption profile. When using the heat supply and demand curve method, the designer places the greatest importance on the minimum size of the DHW storage tank (i.e. the shape of the supply curve), regardless of the potential changes in the DHW consumption profile (i.e. the demand curve). When using the so-called priority DHW preparation, the basic precondition is often neglected that the required heat output of a common heat source must comply not only with the DHW preparation system but also with other connected heat consumption points.