Curtea de Argeș, the second capital of Wallachia in the 14th century and one of Romania’s most important and charming historic towns, has been without potable water for the fourth consecutive month. The situation followed a move by Hidroelectrica that caught the municipal water company, Aquaterm 98, by surprise. Aquaterm 98 has not upgraded its equipment since 1970 and can, in practice, only purify water that is already close to being potable.

Around 50,000 people in Curtea de Argeș and surrounding villages are currently supplied with drinking water through plastic reservoirs placed across the municipality, which risk freezing during cold winter nights.

Since this week, the use of water for domestic purposes has been restricted after bacteria were detected in the distribution system, according to Europa Libera Romania.

Neither Hidroelectrica, through energy minister Bogdan Ivan, nor the Romanian Waters authority, through environment minister Diana Buzoianu, has accepted responsibility for the situation. The municipal water company, Aquaterm AG 98, has applied a 30% price reduction for residents, acknowledging that the water supplied does not meet contractual standards.

Romania is currently running municipal water projects with a combined value of EUR 9.7 billion, according to minister of investments and European projects Dragoș Pîslaru, speaking at the Excellence in the Water Industry Gala organised by the Romanian Water Association (ARA) on February 10, as reported by Digi24. None of these projects, however, is located in Curtea de Argeș. Meanwhile, the board of Aquaterm AG 98 is made up entirely of members appointed on a temporary basis (i.e., without a selection procedure), according to the TableBoard platform unveiled by deputy prime minister Oana Gheorghiu on the same day.

A technical report prepared by Veolia România Soluții Integrate on the Curtea de Argeș water system found that the municipal filtration plant collapsed when water turbidity rose to around 30 NTU. As a rule of thumb, modern filtration systems are designed to cope with turbidity levels of up to 100 NTU, while newer systems can handle up to 200 NTU, Mediafax reported.

“The problems that arose when the water level in the Vidraru reservoir decreased consisted of an increase in raw water turbidity from previous values of 9 NTU to 30 NTU,” the report consulted by Mediafax states.

In principle, this should not have posed a problem for Aquaterm AG 98.

“If all the plant’s systems had been functional, conditions would have allowed turbidity levels below 1 NTU after filtration and 4 NTU at the consumer’s tap (in line with the requirements of OG 7/2023),” the specialists concluded.

Veolia’s report also found that the filtered water basins have not been cleaned or disinfected for approximately 20 years, while filter pipes and fittings are excessively degraded, with advanced corrosion affecting all components. In some cases, emergency repairs have been carried out by embedding broken pipe sections in rapid-setting concrete within formwork.

“It can fail at any time, and the complete replacement of pipes and fittings is imperative in the long term,” the specialists warned.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Juri Tichonow/Dreamstime.com)