PROPOSAL FOR THE RESTORATION OF LONGITUDINAL CONNECTIVITY OF THE JIU RIVER AND ENSURING FISH MIGRATION UPSTREAM / DOWNSTREAM OF ISALNITA DAM

Răzvan Voicu, Ecaterina Luca
National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management Bucharest, Romania

Abstract

The aim of this paper is based on the necessity of ensuring the longitudinal connectivity of rivers in order to establish sustainable means of solving current problems related to ensuring the migration of fish fauna, generated by building dams on watercourses. The main purpose is to suggest solutions to restore the longitudinal connectivity of the Jiu River and ensure the fish migration upstream / downstream of Isalnita Dam, in the context of the issues typical of this area. The water body “Işalniţa reservoir” has been classified as heavily modified water body, due to the dam’s presence. Therefore, the need to find solutions to restore the longitudinal connectivity and ensure the migration of fish fauna towards the breeding areas has led to the proposal of technical solutions to ensure fish migration upstream and downstream the Işalniţa dam. The proposed technical solutions consist in developing a lateral system set on the left bank of the Jiu River to ensure the migration of fish fauna and arrangement of obstacles encountered on the route of the proposed migration system. Achieving the proposed system in order to ensure fish migration will provide longitudinal connectivity restoration of the Jiu River and access of migratory species towards the aquatic habitats upstream, helping to restore natural ecosystems and to improve the water quality. In this way, the restoration of longitudinal connectivity of Jiu River near Işalniţa dam would provide habitats reconnection on the river sector located at the confluence between the Jiu River and Turceni Dam and create optimal conditions for fish migration and aquatic fauna development upstream and downstream of Işalniţa dam.

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