More than a quarter (26 pct) of the flow monitoring stretches in the country's 11 drainage basins are below the minimum required for the month of August and are therefore unable to simultaneously provide the necessary water for all uses along the respective river sectors, the 'Romanian Waters' National Administration informs in a release on Tuesday.
"Therefore, the Water Restriction and Usage Plan for Scarcity Periods needs to be activated for these sectors. The warning levels are set separately for each water usage/operator, according to needs. Depending on these thresholds and the flow balance per sector, the warning steps are imposed in accordance with the regulations in force," the cited source said.
According to the monitoring report conducted by 'Romanian Waters' experts, as well as to the findings of the Water Basin Administrations, 696 localities have restrictions imposed on their surface and underground water sources.
The region of Moldova remains the most severely hit by drought, especially the small towns and villages where the supply is provided either from the surface water source or from the underground. For all the others, including large towns, which are supplied centrally from the surface water source, the water reserve is sufficient, although it is progressively decreasing.
Romania's (strategic) water reserve in the main 40 lakes is 3.13 billion cubic meters, compared to 3.45 billion at the beginning of July 2022. AGERPRES