Ecological rehabilitation of the Balasan River

The ecological rehabilitation of the Balasan River in order to achieve the environmental objectives is an ongoing project of ABA Jiu.

The Balasan River is located in the lower basin of the Danube River, being a left tributary of it, representative of the aquatic flora and fauna of the plain area. This river was intensively subjected to the regularization process, significantly changing its natural course. The two water bodies designated for this river are heavily modified water bodies, the main reason being the hydro-morphological alterations of the river, and from a qualitative point of view, the diffuse pollution with nutrients from agricultural sources.

The investment objective focuses on the two water bodies of the Balasan River, on river sectors located exclusively outside the protected areas, respectively:

• Balasan source – downstream,
• Balasan downstream Băileşti – Danube confluence.

The executed works are located in the suburbs of the Dobridor and Băilești localities, on these sections of the river the banks have been renatured. The bed of the bed was restored by introducing material, generally represented by stone, gravel, into the regularized bed.

As in the area of ​​Cove – Catane, many invasive species with effects on biodiversity were identified in the riverbed, in this sector the greening of the riverbed will be carried out through appropriate measures for the management of aquatic vegetation. Here, 3 dead arms have been identified and will be reconnected.

An improvement of ecological potential

By implementing the activities provided in this project, an improvement of the ecological potential is expected by rehabilitating the degraded river sectors of Balasan, which represent approximately 50% of its length. In addition to increasing the ecological potential of the water bodies managed by ABA Jiu, on the Balasan River, the implementation of this project will bring important benefits for biodiversity in at least 5 neighboring protected areas that are directly related to this water course, respectively to the sectors rehabilitated through this project.

After analyzing the anthropogenic pressures identified in the field, it turned out that the regularized sector on the territory of Dobridor and Băilești, hundreds of meters long, severely fragments the biodiversity of the river. The regularization solutions applied to these sections of the river – concrete walls in the suburbs of Dobridor, respectively lining the entire section with concrete in the suburbs of Băilești – have a major impact on the habitats.

More precisely, the capacities to be realized are the development and greening of the river bed 13,975 km of which:

• 10 km development and greening of the Balasan river;
• 3,975 km dead arm reconnection,
• renaturation of banks 9.71 km (5670 m left bank and right bank – Dobridor; 4040 m left bank and right bank – Băilești).

The ecologically rehabilitated area will become a cleaner, healthier environment.

The project is financed from the state budget and from European funds. The value of the financing contract is 32,449,076.78 lei, and the completion date is August 12, 2024.

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