ENVIRONMENT REHABILITATION ON TROTUS RIVER VALLEY,  AFTER THE 2004 AND 2005 FLOODS                                                                   

Ionut Popa, CD Press Publishing House, Terra Magazine, Romania

Abstract

In July 2004 and July 2005, Trotuş river valley was the scenery of some of the most important floods in it’s recorded hydrological history, with big destruction on houses, roads and bridges, with human life losses and huge agricultural areas flooded down the river. Most of destruction was not only on Trotuş river valley, but also on small tributaries, as Ciobănuş, Asău, Goioasa etc. The large quantities of torrential precipitation caused the flood on the 28th of July 2004 and 12-13 th July 2005. Another factor that favored this devastating phenomenon (which, besides the damage also caused the death of three people, two in the Agăş locality, on the Trotuş river, upstream from Comăneşti) is the massive deforestation carried out over the last years, especially after the taking into possession of the forests, according to Law 1/2000. Chaotic wood cutting (some of which even led to the total uncovering of mountainsides over quite wide areas), either for wood working companies in the Comăneşti area, or for household use, but especially for smuggling purposes, had as a result the rapid discharge of precipitation water down the mountainsides, the formation of mud streams and floods on the tributary streams in the mountain area of the Trotuş river, and finally, a strong flood wave in the bed of the main river.
Nowadays, local, regional and national authorities apply a comprehensive management plan for environmental rehabilitation. By hydrological improvement on small streams and tributaries and discharge control, Trotuş river valley became a safe area, both for environment and it’s inhabitants.

Keywords: Trotuş river, tributaries, heavy rains, deforestation, floods, environmental rehabilitation