198
C. Bacotiu et al.
6.1 Introduction and Short Historical Perspective
Throughout the history of humankind, the degree of civilization of a society was
often measured by its achievements in the water supply domain as water means life.
For Romania, the water supply history is very rich and complex. Therefore this
chapter will only focus on a particular geographical region, situated in the heart of
Transylvania.
An essential economic and academic center, with more than 400,000 inhabitants,
Cluj-Napoca is the fourth major city of Romania. It is located in the north-western
part of the country and is considered the unofficial capital of the historical province
of Transylvania. Surrounded by hills, at about 50 km from the Apuseni Mountains,
Cluj-Napoca is situated on both sides of the Small Some¸ s River. It seems that water
abundance attracted the first settlers about 80–120 thousand years ago, as the first
vestiges of human inhabitance on these territories indicate.
When Dacia was part of the Roman Empire, the town was called Napoca, acquired
the municipium status and became the capital of the Dacia Porolissensis province.
Regarding water supply and resources, they were apparently of great importance,
as demonstrated by a large number of water supply works dating from the Roman
period, uncovered by archaeologists.
Not much progress was made in water supply during the next centuries, even
though the town’s population increased gradually: 6000 inhabitants in 1453, 13,920
inhabitants in 1785, 24,000 inhabitants in 1837 and 26,638 inhabitants in 1869 [17].
The main water source was the Small Some¸ s River, some springs from the Feleacul
Hill and a few fountains, from which people used to carry water with buckets and
other rudimentary means. As a result of poor sanitary conditions and water infestation, numerous epidemics spread rapidly and decimated the population of the town.
Serious measures had to be taken; therefore in 1887 (when the town was part of the
Austrian-Hungarian Empire), the authorities started the first modern water supply
system of Cluj. It consisted of 5 wells placed in the central part of the city, a pumping
station, a cast iron pipe 1677 m long and a small tank, which supplied about 1200 m
3
water per day [17].
In 1889, the Town Hall organized a competition aiming at the elaboration of a
long-term project regarding the city’s water supply and sewerage system [18]. The
winner was the Schlieck company from Budapest. His project stipulated that 2275 m
3
of water have to be provided daily from deep wells (6–8 m). The proposed network
had 26.6 km of pipes with diameters between 40 and 275 mm, 47 valves, 107 hydrants
and 65 public drinking fountains [17].
As the problems raised by the water supply and sewerage system became more
and more complex and the population of Cluj reached 37,000 inhabitants, the need
for a specialized company with the qualified technical staff was evident. As a result,
on November 8, 1892, following a Town Hall decision, the Water and Sewerage
Factories of Cluj were founded.
In 1893, under this organizational framework, the site for the sources, tanks and
networks was opened. In 1900, the Flore¸ sti underground source and a 2000 m
3
C. Bacotiu et al.
6.1 Introduction and Short Historical Perspective
Throughout the history of humankind, the degree of civilization of a society was
often measured by its achievements in the water supply domain as water means life.
For Romania, the water supply history is very rich and complex. Therefore this
chapter will only focus on a particular geographical region, situated in the heart of
Transylvania.
An essential economic and academic center, with more than 400,000 inhabitants,
Cluj-Napoca is the fourth major city of Romania. It is located in the north-western
part of the country and is considered the unofficial capital of the historical province
of Transylvania. Surrounded by hills, at about 50 km from the Apuseni Mountains,
Cluj-Napoca is situated on both sides of the Small Some¸ s River. It seems that water
abundance attracted the first settlers about 80–120 thousand years ago, as the first
vestiges of human inhabitance on these territories indicate.
When Dacia was part of the Roman Empire, the town was called Napoca, acquired
the municipium status and became the capital of the Dacia Porolissensis province.
Regarding water supply and resources, they were apparently of great importance,
as demonstrated by a large number of water supply works dating from the Roman
period, uncovered by archaeologists.
Not much progress was made in water supply during the next centuries, even
though the town’s population increased gradually: 6000 inhabitants in 1453, 13,920
inhabitants in 1785, 24,000 inhabitants in 1837 and 26,638 inhabitants in 1869 [17].
The main water source was the Small Some¸ s River, some springs from the Feleacul
Hill and a few fountains, from which people used to carry water with buckets and
other rudimentary means. As a result of poor sanitary conditions and water infestation, numerous epidemics spread rapidly and decimated the population of the town.
Serious measures had to be taken; therefore in 1887 (when the town was part of the
Austrian-Hungarian Empire), the authorities started the first modern water supply
system of Cluj. It consisted of 5 wells placed in the central part of the city, a pumping
station, a cast iron pipe 1677 m long and a small tank, which supplied about 1200 m
3
water per day [17].
In 1889, the Town Hall organized a competition aiming at the elaboration of a
long-term project regarding the city’s water supply and sewerage system [18]. The
winner was the Schlieck company from Budapest. His project stipulated that 2275 m
3
of water have to be provided daily from deep wells (6–8 m). The proposed network
had 26.6 km of pipes with diameters between 40 and 275 mm, 47 valves, 107 hydrants
and 65 public drinking fountains [17].
As the problems raised by the water supply and sewerage system became more
and more complex and the population of Cluj reached 37,000 inhabitants, the need
for a specialized company with the qualified technical staff was evident. As a result,
on November 8, 1892, following a Town Hall decision, the Water and Sewerage
Factories of Cluj were founded.
In 1893, under this organizational framework, the site for the sources, tanks and
networks was opened. In 1900, the Flore¸ sti underground source and a 2000 m
3