Water resource management problems in Romania

Abstract

Water supply is an important contextual theme in programme of planned economic development. Using the Romanian example it is shown how increasingly heavy demands for water call for a more sophisticated approach to planning in each drainage basin, with measures to increase water storagesand reduce pollution. Such activity can also bring important benefits for navigation, flood control and hydroelectricity output. Substantial investment in multipurpose projects is now required by the economy which is, nevertheless, hardpressed to generate the financial and technical resources that are required. At the same time it is shown how the theme of water resource management, taken in historical perspective, can act as a theme for analytical regional geography. River navigation (backed up with schemes for flood control and hydroelectricity generation) constituted a powerful stimulus in the nineteenth century. Hydroelectricity became a more significant factor after the First World War but construction of major projects has been accelerated by a multi-purpose approach, strenghthened recently by the psychological impact of the 1970 and 1975 floods. Finally, with major rivers forming long sections of Romania's international frontiers', relations with neighbouring countries must be considered a critical factor in the development programme.

The Political Economy of Hydropower in the Communist Space: Iron Gates Revisited

“…The first category includes historical and economic data about hydropower in Romania and about industrial development in the 1960s and 1970s. In order to understand the contribution of political power to the development of the hydropower complex, we use a literature dedicated to the analysis of the social and economic impact of hydropower growth in Romania (Turnock ; Pop ; Murgescu ). The second category comprises institutions, decisions and official documents from the national and international level which regulated the construction of the Iron Gates.…”

“…In Romania, a five‐year plan had begun in 1971 and the opening of Iron Gates in 1972 made a significant contribution in attaining its stipulated economic development goals. In the plan were included specific measures for the management of water resources (Turnock ). Average growth rates of 11 to 12 per cent were stipulated and predicted in the 1971–1975 five‐year plan.…”

“…Hydropower projects were deeply connected to the political and ideological dimension of the new communist regime. Hydropower and water resources were an essential element not just in the industrial development of Romania, but also in the political construction of communism, specifically in the ‘programme for building “the multilaterally developed socialist society”’ (Turnock , p. 609). On the one hand, they made possible the promised ‘industrial dream’, by producing electricity and by reproducing the industrialisation model of the USSR.…”

Using Pressure and Alteration Indicators to Assess River Morphological Quality: Case Study of the Prahova River (Romania)

“…The first phase ) was characterized by extreme structural engineering measures: the construction of dams for hydropower, flow regulation and water extraction due to intense demand for water in a developing society-industry, urbanization, and intensive agriculture [42,43]; construction of levees for defense against flooding after their dramatic damages in the 1970s [42]. The second phase (1990-2010) was marked by softer legal norms in river management [44].…”

Romanian geography reunited ? the integrative approach demonstrated by the conservation movement

“…This in turn gave rise in 1975 to Consi/iul nationa/pentru protectia mediului inconjurator whose chairman, V. lanovici has outlined (1977,1978) the relevance of conservation to national development. As has recently been demonstrated water management is becoming a matter of the greatest importance in Romania and can be seen as a focal point for a number of important issues related to both conservation and development (D. Turnock 1979). This laid considerable emphasis on the environment with particular regard to hydrotechnical works for hydro-electric power, water supply, flood control and irrigation (A. Savu 1975).…”