Siret River Basin - Inundatii

Where is it located?

In administrative terms, Siret watershed area includes territories belonging to 12 counties, respectively: Suceava, Neamt, Bacau, Vrancea, Botosani, Iasi, Galati, Buzau, Covasna, Harghita, Bistrita Nasaud and Maramures. The total population identified in 2018 was of about 2,664,000 inhabitants, and the population density being of 95 inhabitants/sq. km. The main urban agglomerations are: Suceava, Piatra Neamt, Bacau, Focsani and Ramnicu Sarat.

Relief of the river basin

The relief includes: the Eastern Carpathians, the Moldavian and Curvature Sub-Carpathians, the Central Moldavian Plateau and the Lower Siret Plain to the South and East of the watershed area. The mountainous area includes the Eastern Carpathians, with the maximum altitude in Rodnei Mountains (2305 m in Pietrosul summit). The Sub-Carpathians stretch to the East of Flisului Mountains and are made up of a sequence of flatlands delineated to the East by anticline heights of 700 – 1000 m.

The Moldavian Plateau occupies a relatively significant part of Siret watershed area (30%) and features a hilly and plateau relief with heights varying between 700 – 400 m. The plain area has altitudes ranging between 300-250 m, to the limit of the Sub-Carpathians and 20 -10 m in the Lower Siret Floodplain.

The land use in Siret watershed area is influenced both by physical and geographic conditions and by anthropic factors and has the following distribution: 58.29% forests, 22.7% agricultural area, 6.17% lands occupied by constructions and 0.67% wetlands area, etc.

Climate of the river basin

Considering the position of our country, Siret watershed area is characterized by a temperate climate, with increasing continental influences. To the West, the alpine climate is dominant and to the South, there are influences of the steppe climate.

Average multi-annual precipitations decrease in the high alpine area towards the plain area and even towards the valleys in the same regions, as well as from East to West. Average multi-annual temperatures increase while altitude from North to South decreases.

Total water resources

The total area of Siret watershed area is of 28,116 sq. km, representing a ratio of 11.8% from the country area. The hydrographic network includes a number of 735 surveyed water courses with a total length of 10,280 km and an average density of 0.36 km/sq. km. On the Romanian territory, Siret watershed area includes the sub-basins: Suceava with 34 coded tributaries, Moldova with 50 coded tributaries, Bistrita with 72 coded tributaries, Trotus with 41 coded tributaries, Putna with 19 coded tributaries, Ramnicu Sarat with 10 coded tributaries and Hantesti, Somuzul Mic, Soci and Carecna (without tributaries).

The total surface water resources in the Siret hydrographic area amounts to about 6,868 million cubic meters / year, of which the usable resources are approx. 2,655 mil.mc/an. These represent approx. 38.6% of the total resources and are formed mainly by the rivers: Siret, Moldova, Bistrița, Trotuș and their tributaries. In the Siret hydrographic space there are 21 important accumulation lakes (with an area of more than 0.5 km2), which have a complex use and amount to a useful volume of 1,206.121 million square meters.

In the Siret hydrographic area, the underground resources are estimated at 700 million meters (usable resource), of which 578 million meters come from groundwater sources and 122 million meters from deep sources.

Description of existing flood protection works

In Siret watershed area, there are 121 permanent reservoirs and 3 non-permanent reservoirs. Among them, 11 permanent reservoirs, 3 non-permanent reservoirs and 3 diversion dams are managed by the „Romanian Waters” National Administration, 14 reservoirs are managed by Hidroelectrica S.A. – Electrocentrale Piatra Neamt Branch, and the remaining reservoirs are managed or owned by SNIF, Fishery Companies, Town Halls, economic agents, natural entities.

As main flood protection works in Siret watershed area, managed by the „Romanian Waters” National Administration, there are 374.52 km of dikes, 438 km of riverbed regularizations and 195 km bank defense works.

Floods records

The most important maximum discharges recorded during the period of running the program for observations and measurements in the main gauge stations in Siret watershed area (the first 4 values) are shown in the table below:

River	Gauge Stations	Maximum annual discharges occurred (cubic meters/s) / year
Siret	Siret	1193/1969	847/1970	828/1978	920/2008
Siret	Huţani	866/1969	776/1970	676/1985	813/2008
Suceava	Iţcani	1354/1959	1200/1974	720/2005	1710/2008
Siret	Lespezi	1133/1969	1080/1974	1028/1978	2414/2008
Moldiva	Roman	1140/1955	890/1985	1415/1991	1188/2008
Siret	Drăgeşti	1900/1969	1768/1991	1949/2005	2930/2008
Bistriţa	Frumosu	772/1970	703/1974	452/1978	471/1985
Bistriţa	Frunzeni	704/1979	848/1991	880/1997	1205/2005
Siret	Adjudu Vechi	2220/1969	1960/1975	2450/1991	2300/2005
Trotuş	Vrânceni	1193/1667/1960	1700/1975	1510/1988	2845/2005
Putna	Boţârlău	1000/1970	664/1981	1958/2005	858/2007
Siret	Lungoci	2670/1969	3186/1970	3270/1991	4650/2005
Rm. Sărat	Tătaru	282/1966	266/1969	274/1970	126/2005

From the analysis of maximum discharges occurred during the monitored period, a high variability of values in time and space is noted. On small rivers, where there are local flash floods caused by convectional rainfalls, dates on which maximum discharges and floods occur are extremely different.

The experience acquired in time leads to the conclusion that more general flash floods usually occur in the context of a retrograde atmospheric circulation of air masses re-taking up moisture above the Black Sea.

Contact Siret RBA

Address: Str. Cuza Voda Nr. 1, cod 600274, Bacau, Romania

Phone: 0234-541646

Fax: 0234-510050; 0234-515797

Dispatcher’s Office: 0234-515466

Email: dispecer@das.rowater.ro