Projects

WATMAN – Information System for the Integrated Water Management – Stage I

The WATMAN is the largest project for managing and strengthening the institutional and decision-making capacity carried out so far in Romania.

This project has had two major objectives:

1. Increase the safety level of hydrotechnical constructions
2. Enhance the intervention capacity in case of natural disasters

Investments have involved, among others, the installation of hundreds of automatic sensor-supported stations and equipment, as well as the set-up of 15 coordination centers and 23 rapid intervention centers with complementary software and hardware endowment.

Impact:

• Upgraded decision-making systems for operational actions during and post-flooding events
• Enhanced control in the coordination related to operation of hydrotechnical constructions
• Improved and integrated hydrological data by collection of more data in river sectors where there are not currently any hydrological stations
• More accurate forecast of flash floods and pollution within a short period of time, by using the data collected

The project Strengthening the cooperation within the achievement of river basin management plans of and flood risk preventive plans in order to improve the condition of waters in the Tisa River Basin provides the framework for transnational cooperation over the period 2017-2019 in the largest sub-basin of the Danube River Basin.

The project objective is to improve the condition of waters in the basin though strengthening the transnational cooperation and improving the interaction between stakeholders and authorities co-managing and co-monitoring the same river basin. Moreover, the project will identify the solutions for common challenges in the entire basin (over-exploitation, modification of the water regime, water contamination, floods intensification, given the increasing effects of climate change).

BRIGAID has been a large-scale international project, with the participation of 24 partners, aimed at bringing closer innovators of technologies in the flood risk management, related to draughts and extreme weather conditions, as well as end users.

By this project, Romania has become one of the eight European countries involved in the development of an Innovation Community in the field of resilience to national disasters, called Flood Proof Romania (FPR). In particular, Flood Proof Romania is actually a land for testing high-rise structures (dikes over 3 meters) built in Facau commune, near Bucharest, and located downstream a 13-meter tall dam. This land is appropriate especially for testing and monitoring innovations in case of high-velocity water discharges, as occurred during flash floods and landslides, as well as of effects of extreme cold and draught climate conditions. Furthermore, FPR bridges the gap of testing lands necessary for the structural development, trails and demonstration of innovations across the Eastern Europe region.

Participants in this project have been the “Romanian Waters” National Administration, the engineering and design company Aquaproiect, the Technical University of Civil Engineering in Bucharest, as well as the innovative company Spectrum Construct.

The project objective has been to establish a Romanian and Bulgarian common system for the management and control of the Danube water under extreme conditions, resulting from natural and technological disasters.

Under this project, a ship has been purchased, featuring a laboratory including cutting-edge equipment for quantitative and qualitative water measurements, with sensors fitted for monitoring and drilling sections, as well as equipment for endowment of gauge stations and of laboratories in the common area of the Danube.

Among the project objectives we mention: establish common methodologies and standards for water monitoring between the two countries; organization of joint databases; endowment with state-of-the-art equipment, compatible with those in EU Member States; upgrade and harmonization of the qualitative monitoring and of the laboratories existing in the 2 countries; early warning systems for floods, shallow waters and accidental pollution, for the border authorities; increase the public awareness through environmental protection and management information campaigns in the cross-border area.

Benefits of the Danube WATER Project refer to:

• increase the response capacity for the risk cases (enhance population’s safety, reduce casualties and material losses, water resources and environmental protection etc.)
• as well as support the decision-makers with real-time data and information
• facilitate the data exchange at regional level

The main objective of the project has been to improve the transnational water management and flood risk prevention, while maximizing the benefits for biodiversity conservation. The expected change refers to a better awareness, among countries located in the Danube River Basin, of the integrated water management through floodplain restoration, combination of classical and ‚green’ infrastructure, natural retention measures, with the engagement of all stakeholders.

The main project activities have been: updating the inventory of floodplain areas and their classification by using the Flood Evaluation Matrix – FEM; the evaluation, by using the pre-selected pilot areas, regarding the efficiency of floodplain projects in the Danube District and the development of tools for increasing the level of knowledge and cooperation among experts, practitioners, decision-makers and stakeholders in terms of floodplain restoration.

The project overall objective is the substantiation and support of implementation measures aimed at the adaptation of structures, process improvement and human resources training in order to strengthen the capacity of public authorities and institutions in water management and flood risk management.

The project results underlie strategic decisions aimed at mitigating the risks of disaster and, implicitly, at enhancing the population safety and that of the business environment. Moreover, this refers to the improvement of the legal and institutional framework, identification of legislative overlapping, as well as to legislation gaps in the field of risk management, establishment of the roles and skills of central and local public authorities.

The protection and rehabilitation concerning the Southern part of the Romanian Black Sea coast within the Constanta Municipality area (Mamaia Sud, Tomis Nord, Tomis Centru and Tomis Sud) and Eforie Nord
Lot: Eforie Nord, Eforie

Under this project, the sanding works have been completed between Constanta all the way to Mamaia and Eforie Nord. More precisely, it is about 5 beach sectors with a cumulated length of approximately 7.3 km and an extended width of more than 100 meters, which are accessible for all tourists since 2016. Besides, under the same project, the surface of the 5 beach sectors (Mamaia Sud, Tomis Nord, Tomis Centru, Tomis Sud and Eforie Nord) has been extended by 60.66 ha.

The newly created beaches are the result of works for combating coastal corrosion, the execution and implementation of which have been approved and financed by the European Union under one of the largest infrastructure projects developed by the Romanian Government, over the last 50 years, though its authorized institutions (the Ministry of Environment – “Romanian Waters” National Administration – RBA Dobrogea-Litoral”).

The project beneficiary is Dobrogea-Litoral River Basin Administration (RBA).