Antropical Changes in the Hydrographical Network of Banat in the 20Th Century
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ANTROPICAL CHANGES IN THE HYDROGRAPHICAL NETWORK OF BANAT IN THE 20TH CENTURY RODICA MUNTEANU, CARMEN HARABAGIU1 Key words: Banat province, antropical changes, hydrographical network The historical province of Banat, situated in the middle basin of the Danube is stretched inside the territory of the Danube (south), Mureş (north), Tisa (west) and the groups of mountains Godeanu, Parâng and Poiana Ruscă (east). Inside these limits Banat has a surface of 28.526 km2, of which 18.966 km2 belong to the Romanian territory. Banat has a varied relief, with a clime marked by the influences of the Atlantic air- mass circulation, with invasions of Mediteranean airs, a rich network of rivers, a vegetation cover and a diversified soil cover. The foms of relief are disposed in stairs as an amphiteater, with altitudes which go down from the east to the west and from the south till the north, and the flowing waters which cross this territory and which have their springs in the hills or in the mountains are tributaries of Tisa or of the Danube. On the territory of Banat there exists in totality or in great measure the hydrographical basins of the rivers Aranca, Bega, Timiş, Caraş, Nera and Cerna. Because of economical necessities (as water supplying, the need of electric-power energy, fishing, the extension of some agricultural surfaces, irigations) but also of other considerations (as the stopping of the flooding waves), man determined the changes of the configuration and of the hydrological regime of the water courses since old times. In this paper we shall refer only to the anthropical changes of the hydrological network from Banat which have been made during the 20th century. Having as a target the obtaining of electric energy the managements on the rivers of Banat have been made on the Bârzava river, a tributary of the Timiş river. In the upper sector, the Bârzava Valley is narrow, lacking in general its major river-bed and having slopes which pass 15 m/km, specific for hydro-energetical managements. The necessary of electric-power energy for the industrial center of Reşiţa determined that even at the beginning of the 20th century to be begun the making of some dams, accumulation lakes, channels and adductions which have changed the aspect and the hydrological regime of the river Bârzava, even on its upper course. In the year 1909, on the 4th of September, it is exploited the Văliug Lake. The dam is placed in the upper part of the settement having the same name and has a height of 27 m and a length of 90,46 m. It is built in arch, the body and the dam being executed from rough stone and cement, on a concrete foundation. The surface of the lake is of 12,06 ha and the whole volume of water is of 1,13 mil. mc. The aim of this dam was: to obtain electric-power energy (985.000 m3), water supplying (985.000 m3) and the slowing down of the floodings (130.000 m3). Between the years 1951-1953 it was given to function, in the different stages, the Gozna accumulation. The first filling began in 1951, while in 1953 it appeared the first flooding. The dam is made of concrete and stones with a mass of tightening made of steel sheet. The height of the dam is of 220 m. The whole volume of water from the lake is 11.997 mil. m3. The functions of the accumulations are obtained of electric energy (5,76 mil. m3), the water supply is about 10 mil. m3 and the flooding waves are slowing to 1,88 mil. m3. In the year 1904 it is begun to be exploited the channels Grebla (the Main Channel) and Canalul de Sus (the Upper Channel). 1 West University of Timisoara, Direction of Banat Waters Rodica Munteanu, Carmen Harabagiu Grebla Channel has a lenght of 12,119 km and is placed between CHE Breazova (electric-power station of Breazova) and Reşiţa. The channel was built in order to make a hydraulic fall for CHE Grebla which supplies and which use the water supplying to the Metalurgic Enterprise of Reşiţa. At the beginning the channel was used also for wood transport. Canalul de Sus was built with the aim of supplying with water the CHE Breazova and of rafting. The channel has a length of 3.415 km and a maximum flow of 2.80 m3/s. In the year 1912 it is put into function the collecting channel Semenic. It is a slope channel made of wood and concrete. Its length is 23.31 km and has a maximum capacity of transport of 1.90 m3/s. The first aim of the channel was the rafting, now having the function of a slope channel for the flows from the north versant of the Timiş basin and for the water transport which is pumped from the Lake Trei Ape. Nera Channel is given to exploitation in 1951 and was managed for the aim of over supplying the quantity of waters from the basin of Bârzava through the transfer of some captured flows from the upper basin of Nera. The Channel has also a collecting role for the slope as far as all the courses of running waters are concerned. The length of the channel is 6.675 km and the maximum capacity is 1.43 m3/s. Lake Trei Ape began to be exploited on the 6th of March, 1970. The dam is built of stones and concrete with a clay layer in the middle. The height of the dam is 31.40 m and the length of the crown is 298.0 m. The lake has a surface of 52.612 ha and a volume of accumulation of 5.34 mil. m3. The functions of the accumulation are: the water supply (4,75 mil. m3) and the lowering of the floods (1.54 mil. m3). At 1.5 km upward the dam it is placed the station of pumping which began to function in the year 1970. Its target is to pump the water from the lake towards the basin of Bârzava. The pumped water goes through a pipeline into a loading basin, from which through a slope channel (740 m lenth) it gets into the Semenic channel. In the upper basin of Bârzava it was managed the Şafra (Gozna) Channel, with a length of 6.78 km. It is a slope channel made of round elements of monolith concrete; the maximum flow is of 0.78 m3/s. It was given in exploitation into the year 1970. Built at the beginning for rafting, the channel was built on a length of 4.7 km in order to manage the waters in the CHE Crăinicel. In the year 1980 it began the works of building of some dams, artificial lakes, channels of the river basins of Bistra, Sebeş, Râul Alb and Râul Rece. On the Bistra Mărului spring, a right tributary of Bistra, it began in the year 1981 the works of building the Poiana Marului dam, works ended in the year 1988. Built of stones and concrete, the dam is 125 m height and 408 m length. The lake has a surface of 300 ha and a total volume of 90 mil. m3. The aim of the lake is to assure the volume for CHE Ruieni. The secondary pipeline of Bistra - Poiana Mărului (Length = 18,9 km, Qmax = 8,10 m3/s) supplies the water from the lake. The lake assures also the necessary of water for the consumers of Oţelu Roşu. On the Sebeş Valley, the right tributary was given to exploitation the accumulation of Zerveşti, with a whole volume of 1.2 mil. m3. The lake serves to CHE Ruieni. For the water supply necessary to the industry and to the population it was built in Banat the lakes of Secu (on Bârzava) and Surduc (on Gladna). The Secu Lake was given ints exploitation on the 16th of April 1963. The dam, built of concrete with mushroom-fortress, with a height of 35 m and a length of 136 m. The lake has a surface of 73.42 ha and a total volume of water of 15.10 mil. m3, 720.000 m3 of protection water, 7.238 mil. m3 for slowing down the floods. The Surduc Lake was put into function in the year 1976. The dam is built of stones and concrete and has a height of 34 m and a length of 130 m. The surface of the lake is of 538 236 Antropical changes in the hydrological network of Banat in the 20th century ha and the whole volume of water is of 66.27 mil. m3. The category of using is very complex: water accumulations (for the city of Timişoara), irigations and fishing. In the aim of stopping the waves of flooding on the tributaries of Timiş and Bega in the plain region have been managed especially many accumulations (fig. 1), of which characteristic elements are shown on fig. 1. 237 Rodica Munteanu, Carmen Harabagiu Table 1 The lakes of the basins of Bega and Timiş rivers from the plain area No Name of the lake Course of the Height of the Surface (ha) W/106 Year of putting crt. water dam (m) into function 1. Giarmata 10,5 40,0 1,34 1971 2. Pişchia Bega Veche 9,45 510,0 14,4 1972 3. Dumbrăviţa Behela 5,00 190,0 1,32 1971 4. Gherteamoş Gherteamoş 9,75 148,0 4,94 1971 5. Mănăştur Apa Mare 8,0 420,0 11,0 1972 6.