2 Implementation of EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) …
19
that signed the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
(ICPDR) established for the Management Plan of the Danube Hydrographical District to comprise:
– part A—the general plan that comprises basin problems with transboundary
effects (the main streams of the rivers with hydrographical basins >4000 km
2 ;
lakes measuring >100 km
2 ; the main channels; transboundary aquifers measuring
>4000 km
2 ; the Danube Delta and the coastal waters);
– part B—the national management plan of the Danubian countries.
The groundwater resources in Romania are insufficiently exploited (4–6%), and
they are mainly destined to the supplying of big urban centres (Iasi, Ploiesti, Craiova,
Brasov, Sibiu, etc.). The most important groundwater resources are affected by mineralization (saltification—the Moldavian Plateau, the Transylvanian Depression);
they are hard waters (Dobrudja, the Mehedinti Plateau, the Moldavian Plateau, etc.)
or they are at great depths (Baragan, Oltenia).
The faulty character in water resources of hydrographical basins in Romania
makes the accent on exploitation be very strong. The post-Communist period led to
the fall of the energy- and water-consuming industrial branches: iron and steel, chemistry, agriculture, etc. In this case, the water demands decreased visibly. Recently,
an invigoration has been recorded for the agricultural sector, where irrigated fields
have increased significantly, mostly in Baragan, the Moldavian Plateau (the county
of Vaslui), Oltenia and Dobrudja. Romania has passed from 3 million ha in the
Communist period to 300,000 irrigated hectares today. However, the trend is rapidly
increasing. This evolution may give the illusion of better security in the water supply. Nonetheless, numerous challenges subject the Romanian economy to securing
the water supply of cities and villages that have been neglected for a long time. For
example, most villages are not connected to the centralized water supply system.
The perennial character of a global water supply threatened by increased aridity and
the invigoration of big water-consuming industrial branches (agriculture, chemistry);
meeting the environment and quality standards, etc.
In what terms are these challenges expressed? What are the environmental constraints and to what extent is a new approach to water resources management necessary? Is Romania capable of meeting the future need for water? The topic related
to water management and to the development of hydrographical basins is destined
to researches in the field of water resources and quality, of territorial planning, of
hydrotechnical constructions, of environmental geography, etc. This study outlines
the contemporary reality of water resources and the stage of their quality.
2.2 Methodology
The hydrological data were provided by the National Institute of Hydrology and
Water Management in Bucharest and by the local Water Basin Administrations
(Siret, Prut-Barlad, Jiu, Arges-Vedea, Mures, Banat, Crisuri, Somes-Tisa, Olt, Buzau-
19
that signed the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River
(ICPDR) established for the Management Plan of the Danube Hydrographical District to comprise:
– part A—the general plan that comprises basin problems with transboundary
effects (the main streams of the rivers with hydrographical basins >4000 km
2 ;
lakes measuring >100 km
2 ; the main channels; transboundary aquifers measuring
>4000 km
2 ; the Danube Delta and the coastal waters);
– part B—the national management plan of the Danubian countries.
The groundwater resources in Romania are insufficiently exploited (4–6%), and
they are mainly destined to the supplying of big urban centres (Iasi, Ploiesti, Craiova,
Brasov, Sibiu, etc.). The most important groundwater resources are affected by mineralization (saltification—the Moldavian Plateau, the Transylvanian Depression);
they are hard waters (Dobrudja, the Mehedinti Plateau, the Moldavian Plateau, etc.)
or they are at great depths (Baragan, Oltenia).
The faulty character in water resources of hydrographical basins in Romania
makes the accent on exploitation be very strong. The post-Communist period led to
the fall of the energy- and water-consuming industrial branches: iron and steel, chemistry, agriculture, etc. In this case, the water demands decreased visibly. Recently,
an invigoration has been recorded for the agricultural sector, where irrigated fields
have increased significantly, mostly in Baragan, the Moldavian Plateau (the county
of Vaslui), Oltenia and Dobrudja. Romania has passed from 3 million ha in the
Communist period to 300,000 irrigated hectares today. However, the trend is rapidly
increasing. This evolution may give the illusion of better security in the water supply. Nonetheless, numerous challenges subject the Romanian economy to securing
the water supply of cities and villages that have been neglected for a long time. For
example, most villages are not connected to the centralized water supply system.
The perennial character of a global water supply threatened by increased aridity and
the invigoration of big water-consuming industrial branches (agriculture, chemistry);
meeting the environment and quality standards, etc.
In what terms are these challenges expressed? What are the environmental constraints and to what extent is a new approach to water resources management necessary? Is Romania capable of meeting the future need for water? The topic related
to water management and to the development of hydrographical basins is destined
to researches in the field of water resources and quality, of territorial planning, of
hydrotechnical constructions, of environmental geography, etc. This study outlines
the contemporary reality of water resources and the stage of their quality.
2.2 Methodology
The hydrological data were provided by the National Institute of Hydrology and
Water Management in Bucharest and by the local Water Basin Administrations
(Siret, Prut-Barlad, Jiu, Arges-Vedea, Mures, Banat, Crisuri, Somes-Tisa, Olt, Buzau-