Flood Hazard and Risk Maps
Weather Warnings
Jiu River Basin
Jiu River Basin is located to the South-Western part of the country, bordering to the North on Mures River Basin, to the West on Bega-Timis-Cerna watershed area, to the East on Olt River Basin, to the South on Bulgaria – the limit is formed by the Danube River course.
Where is it located?
Form the administrative point of view, Jiu river basin includes the territories of 4 counties, respectively: Dolj, Gorj, Mehedinti and Hunedoara (the Southern part of the county).
The total area of Jiu River Basin Administration region is of 16,758.59 km², (representing a ratio of 7.03 % from the country area), and the hydrographic network includes a number of 288 surveyed water courses (of which 11 have areas of less than 10 km²), with a total length of 5,605 km and an average density of 0.33 km/km². Jiu river basin includes the sub-basins: Jiu with 233 coded tributaries, Gilort with 32 surveyed tributaries, Motru with 41 surveyed tributaries, Desnatui with 23 coded tributaries, Topolnita with 7 coded tributaries, Drincea I with 7 coded tributaries, Jiet, Bahna, Blahnita with 2 coded tributaries each, and the following water courses with no tributaries: Balasan cu Fantana Fatului, Jidostita, Vodita, Tarova and Baran. The length of the Danube River related to Jiu River Basin is of 273.2 km.
Population in the river basin
The total population identified in 2019 is of about 1,413,485 inhabitants, the population density being of 84.34 inhab./km². The main urban agglomerations are: Craiova, Petrosani, Tg.-Jiu, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Lupeni, Vulcan, Bailesti, Petrila, Calafat, Filiasi and Rovinari.
Relief of the river basin
The Southern boundary of Southern Carpathians on the territory of Jiu River Basin includes the Sub-Carpathians, the Getic Plateau and Mehedinti Plateau (47% of Jiu River Basin), characterized by the predominance of hills with altitudes rarely exceeding 700 m.
Olteniei Plain is a morphological sub-unit of the Romanian Plain, delineated to the West and South by Olt River and by Danube River and occupies 32% of the river basin area, having altitudes generally ranging between 100-275 m and below 30 m in Jiului Floodplain and Danube Floodplain.
As this is a territory with a very large area, it features the diversity of the types of riverbeds, starting from narrow riverbeds, with a high slope and an underlying bed of boulders and rocks on upper river courses (in mountain areas) and up to riverbeds with very slight, drifting, winding slopes, with a muddy and sandy underlying bed on lower courses (in the plain area).
The land use in Jiu River Basin is influenced by physical and geographical conditions, as well as by anthropic factors, and has the following distribution: 33.70% forests, 58.52% arable lands, 5.86% an area occupied by constructions and 1.92% water surface and wetlands.
Climate of the river basin
Total water resources
The total water surface resources in Jiu River Basin (without the Danube River) has in total around 3515 mil. cubic meters/year, of which usable resources of approx. 2231.33 mil. cubic meters/year. They represent around 63.48% of the total resources and are mainly formed by the Jiu river and its tributaries, respectively by thr direct tributaries of the Danube to the South-West of the country: Bahna, Topolnita, Blahnita, Drincea, Balasan, Desnatui and Jiet.
For the Danube River, the total water resources are of approx. 194,251.7 mil. cubic meters/year, of which usable are around 55.188 mil. cubic meters/year (representing 28% of theoretical resources).
In Jiu River Basin there are 10 major reservoirs (with an area of more than 0.5 km²), which have a complex use and are totaling a useful volume of 3045.8 mil. cubic meters (it includes reservoirs PF I and PF II).
From the total length of surveyed water courses in Jiu River Basin, non-permanent water courses represent around 21.78%.
In Jiu River Basin, theoretical underground resources (without the Danube River) are estimated at 1035 mil.m3, of which usable underground resources are of 430 mil. cubic meters (representing 41.55 % of theoretical resources). For the Danube River, theoretical underground resources are estimated at 1,545.5 mil.m3, of which usable underground resources are of 329.55 mil.m3, (representing 21 % of theoretical resources) (Source – the draft of Jiu River Basin Management Plan updated (2021)).
Description of existing flood protection works
At the level of Jiu River Basin Administration, a number of flood risk alleviation works have been executed or are operational. Among the most significant such works, there are:
- Dikes of 788.2 km long (on both banks of Jiu River, the left bank of the Danube River in Jiu RBA areal, including Teslui river – in Olt River Basin managed by Jiu RBA and the Danube river tributaries);
- Riverbed regularizations on a length of 465.4 km;
- Non-permanent reservoirs totaling a volume of 151.5 mil.m3 (Rovinari with a volume of 150 mil.m3 and Prodila with a volume of 1.0 mil.m3, and Circeni with 0.5 mil.m3),
- As well as permanent reservoirs existing in Jiu – Danube River Basin which have an important role in flood wave alleviation. The most important regularization and embankment works are located on the Danube River and its tributary Baboia, Jiu river and the latter’s tributaries, Jiet, Zlast, Tismana, Husnita etc.
Flood records
Among the most significant floods, we mention those occurred in: 1961, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1978, 1989, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2014.
In addition, there is the most recent flood recorded in Jiu-Danube River Basin, on 26.06.2020, in the upper basin of Western Jiu river, when the danger levels were exceeded in: gauge station Campu lui Neag- Jiu river, gauge station Valea de Pesti- Valea de Pesti river and gauge station Iscroni – Jiu river.
The maximum historical level was exceeded in two gauge stations: Rostovanu- Rostovanu river and Valea de Pesti- Valea de Pesti river.
These historical floods were caused by heavy rains recorded on 26.06.2020 in the two stations within a short period of time (gauge station Rostovanu – 45.4 l/sqm, gauge station Valea de Pesti-242.2 l/sqm and gauge station Campul lui Neag 250 l/sqm).
The most significant damages were recorded in 1999, on the rivers Jiu – downstream the confluence with Motru and Motru – downstream the locality of Pades, as a result of floods that affected an area of 53.52 km², respectively 41.68 km² (Source– the Flood Risk Management Plan of Jiu River Basin Administration).
Contact Jiu RBA
Address: Str. N. Romanescu Nr. 54, cod 200738, Dolj, Dolj county, Romania
Phone: 0251-426655
Fax: 0251-427597
Dispetcher’s Office: 0251-427512
Email: dispecerat.daj@daj.rowater.ro
