Vistula Lagoon Haff" = "Fresh Lagoon". Digging a canal to connect the lagoon with the Baltic Sea is in consideration as a major EU-supported project. The canal, would re-activate the Elbląg river port. It would also free its dependence on Russia, which time and again revokes the right of passage for Polish ships through the Strait of Baltiysk as a form of pressure on Polish authorities. In October 2016 details of the project were confirmed by PiS leader, Jarosław Kaczyński. The long, 80 metres wide and 5 metres deep canal shall be completed by 2020 at an estimated cost of PLN 880
Lagoon coastal transgression and sea level rise. During high flow events there is also the possibility for secondary breaches of the barrier or lagoon truncation to occur. Storm events also have the ability to close hapua outlets as waves overtop the barrier depositing sediment and choking the scoured channel. The resultant swift increase in lagoon water level causes a new outlet to be breached rapidly due to the large hydraulic head that forms between the lagoon and sea water levels. Storm breaching is believed to be an important but unpredictable control on the duration of closures at low to moderate river