Romanian Authorities Anticipate Water Shortage, Request Population to Rationalize Usage

National Administration ‘Romanian Waters’ warns about the need to rationalize the water usage due to the drought in the country.

Because of climate changes, and rising temperatures even in the winter season, Romania is facing a severe problem: the risk of water depletion. Authorities are warning that water needs to be used rationally for all uses.

The Romanian Minister of Environment, Tanczos Barna, explained that almost 70% of Romania’s lands are affected by pedological drought, while at the same time water consumption has greatly increased. He even warned that a new heat wave is starting that will strongly affect Romania and will prolong the drought.

The projection of the water shortage in Romania

The National Administration “Romanian Waters” (ANAR) continually monitors the most significant accumulation of lakes’ volumes, which also ensures that water reserves are managed effectively.

ANAR and S.P.E.E.H Hidroelectrica S.A. currently handle 3.45 billion cubic meters of water in the primary 40 accumulation lakes. This can guarantee that all beneficiaries of the centralized surface water source will need raw water.

The authorities’ projection for the Danube’s average monthly flow still predicts a low value in July, or around 3000 m3 / s. Due to a potential propensity to reduce the contribution of precipitation, the average monthly tributary flows in Romania’s inland lakes have a modest contribution. As a result, the Romanian Waters administration predicts that by the end of July, in the 40 major storage lakes that play a significant role in providing water to the population, industry, and the production of power, the level will decrease from 82% to 68%.

28 locations from Botoșani and Galați counties, 77 localities from Bacău, Neamț, and Vrancea counties (north-eastern region of Romania), five localities in Cluj county (western area of Romania), and five localities in Arges county (south Romania) are currently suffering from drought’s effects.

The authorities convey that it is imperative for the population to understand that drinking water supply systems have been dimensioned without irrigation. This means the population has to rationalize consumption during periods like this.

Romania is the largest grain exporter in the European Union and the second-largest producer after France, but it looks like it won’t be the same. Romania is facing a worst-case scenario in an unstable economic context, near an armed conflict, and an unfavourable climate for agriculture. The drought in Romania severely diminishes grain supply and exports, which has been heard for several years now. Suppose the authorities do not resort to implementing a sustainable system to streamline water supply to save water to survive. Then it will raise the issue of a water crisis