The role of Dutch expertise in Romanian water projects. Case study "Integrated water management for the Tecucel River Basin"

Floods are the most important natural risk in Romania. They occur almost on a yearly basis and cause major economic damage and casualties. The project ‘Integrated Water Management for the Tecucel River Basin’ was formulated in response to a flood in the city of Tecuci and its surroundings in 2007. Due to heavy rainfall, water levels on the small Tecucel River increased within a few hours. This caused a major flash flood that affected nearly 60% of Tecuci. At that time, a Romanian student did an internship at water board Hunze and Aa’s (WB H&A) in the North of the Netherlands. She informed employees and the management board of WB H&A about the flood. The water board decided to look for possibilities to do something to prevent the occurrence of similar floods in the future. As the floods also affected the delivery of drinking water and the treatment of wastewater, it decided to adopt an integrated approach. Together with five other organizations, it formulated a project that would improve the water system and living conditions in the Tecucel River Basin and enhance bilateral collaboration and knowledge transfer. Following an exploratory visit and a preparatory mission by Dutch experts (2007 and 2008), the Dutch team submitted a project proposal to the Dutch funding agency Partners for Water. At that time, the agency was not able to fund projects. Hence, the same proposal was submitted to the Netherlands Water Board Bank. This bank could cover up to 50% of the project costs. The remaining costs were covered by the Dutch organizations involved. This report presents the above-mentioned project as a case study within the context of a PhD research on the application of Dutch knowledge in Dutch-funded flood risk projects in Romania.