Northern Romania hit by extended drought
The northern parts of Romania are experiencing a prolonged lack of precipitation and high temperatures, coupled with historic minimum flows for numerous regional rivers.
The Someș-Tisa Water Basin Administration announced this week that 12 hydrological stations have reached zero flow, while another 15 have recorded historic minimum flows, well below the normal values for this period.
In the Crasna river basin and the tributaries of the Lower Someș and the Someșul Mic, runoff is below 10% of the multiannual norm, while in the Tur, Iza, Lăpuș, Sălăuța and Șieu river basins flows represent 10-25% of the multiannual average values.
Higher values, but still below the average specific to this period, were recorded at hydrometric stations in the mountain basins in the eastern part of the Someș-Tisa hydrographic area, namely the Someșul Mare upstream of the confluence with the Sălăuța (20–40%) and the Vișeu (40–60%).
At 34 stations out of the total of 103 hydrometric monitoring points on the watercourses in the basin, the previous minimum flow record was reached or exceeded. A dozen water sites in the region, or 11.6% of the total, had zero flow. The filling degree of the main reservoirs that constitute raw water sources is between 33% and 93%.
According to the Someș-Tisa Water Basin Administration, cited by Mediafax, the most vulnerable is the Vârșolț reservoir on the Crasna River, in Sălaj County. The water reserve in the lake is currently at the lowest level of the past ten years.
“The only reservoir that currently presents a risk from the perspective of available reserves is Lake Vârșolț, located on the Crasna River, in Sălaj County. The current water stock in this reservoir represents the lowest volume recorded in the past ten years,” the specialists stated, while calling on locals to use water sparingly.
Romania declared a nationwide energy state of alert for August amid reduced electricity generation caused by severe drought and exceptionally low river levels. Unit 1 of the Cernavodă nuclear power plant remains shut down because of low Danube levels, while Unit 2 continues operating under close monitoring.
(Photo source: Ahmad Marzuky|Dreamstime.com)
