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A. Constantin and C. St. Nitescu
By decreasing the real water losses, the Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI) will
improve as well. It shows the ratio of Current Annual Real Losses (CARL) to
Unavoidable Annual Real Losses (UARL). ILI is a measure of how well the distribution network is being managed and how proper is its maintenance considering
the current operating pressure, but it has to be analysed together with other indicators,
such as the total system input and the real water losses per service connection and
day.
One of EU targets for 2020, included in the package of climate and energy, is a
20% improvement in the EU’s energy consumption. Therefore thorough attention
has to be paid to the pumping stations—at the source and the distribution networkas they are significant energy consumers.
From the technical point of view, our study focuses on the energy efficiency, an
essential indicator with technical, social and economic consequences. The lack of
data prevented us from assessing the energy efficiency for large water supply systems,
but for small ones, as those in the rural area, we performed a series of operation simulation in EPANET, to assess and compare the specific consumed energy coefficient
and all the technical parameters that define the hydraulic system.
The specific consumed energy coefficient, e, expresses the amount of energy
consumed to pump 1 m
3 of water and convey it through the distribution pipeline.
More on this coefficient is given in [7].
5.3 Irrigation Water Supply Systems
5.3.1 Past and Present in Irrigation Infrastructure
The land improvement works mainly support agriculture in Dobrogea. The region
has always been an arid one, but the rapid climate change in the late decades, made
agriculture more and more vulnerable and dependant on irrigation. Temperature
evolution and water scarcity, and we refer here to surface waters and precipitation,
along with the anthropogenic activity led the scientists to the conclusion that a real
danger of desertification threatens our land. Droughts, floods, and other climate
change issues have a significant impact on the food production, despite the potential
of agriculture.
Irrigation, a keystone of food security policies in the face of climatic variability
all over the world, is more valuable in Dobrogea. The irrigation infrastructure has
been developed since the years 1960. The fast growth recorded in Dobrogea, during
the communist era increased the irrigated area from 15,000 ha in 1965 to 520,000 ha
in 1989. The irrigated area at that moment represented 80% of agricultural land in
Constanta County and 40% in Tulcea County.
The irrigation systems were large. Out of the 100 irrigation systems built in Dobrogea, four systems had more than 100,000 ha. The average area was 28,144 ha [14].
A. Constantin and C. St. Nitescu
By decreasing the real water losses, the Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI) will
improve as well. It shows the ratio of Current Annual Real Losses (CARL) to
Unavoidable Annual Real Losses (UARL). ILI is a measure of how well the distribution network is being managed and how proper is its maintenance considering
the current operating pressure, but it has to be analysed together with other indicators,
such as the total system input and the real water losses per service connection and
day.
One of EU targets for 2020, included in the package of climate and energy, is a
20% improvement in the EU’s energy consumption. Therefore thorough attention
has to be paid to the pumping stations—at the source and the distribution networkas they are significant energy consumers.
From the technical point of view, our study focuses on the energy efficiency, an
essential indicator with technical, social and economic consequences. The lack of
data prevented us from assessing the energy efficiency for large water supply systems,
but for small ones, as those in the rural area, we performed a series of operation simulation in EPANET, to assess and compare the specific consumed energy coefficient
and all the technical parameters that define the hydraulic system.
The specific consumed energy coefficient, e, expresses the amount of energy
consumed to pump 1 m
3 of water and convey it through the distribution pipeline.
More on this coefficient is given in [7].
5.3 Irrigation Water Supply Systems
5.3.1 Past and Present in Irrigation Infrastructure
The land improvement works mainly support agriculture in Dobrogea. The region
has always been an arid one, but the rapid climate change in the late decades, made
agriculture more and more vulnerable and dependant on irrigation. Temperature
evolution and water scarcity, and we refer here to surface waters and precipitation,
along with the anthropogenic activity led the scientists to the conclusion that a real
danger of desertification threatens our land. Droughts, floods, and other climate
change issues have a significant impact on the food production, despite the potential
of agriculture.
Irrigation, a keystone of food security policies in the face of climatic variability
all over the world, is more valuable in Dobrogea. The irrigation infrastructure has
been developed since the years 1960. The fast growth recorded in Dobrogea, during
the communist era increased the irrigated area from 15,000 ha in 1965 to 520,000 ha
in 1989. The irrigated area at that moment represented 80% of agricultural land in
Constanta County and 40% in Tulcea County.
The irrigation systems were large. Out of the 100 irrigation systems built in Dobrogea, four systems had more than 100,000 ha. The average area was 28,144 ha [14].