Water footprint assessment in North Eastern region of Romania: A case study for Iasi County, Romania

Many factors affect the water consumption pattern such as growing world population, climate changes, industrial and agricultural practices, etc. The present study provides for the first time a year-to-year analysis of water use for agricultural production, domestic water supply and industrial production from a hydrological, economical and ecological perspective in the NE region of Romania. Such an assessment can provide information to facilitate an efficient allocation of water resources to different economic and environmental demands. This assessment is also considering the general economic and social context of the Iasi county as an important area within north-eastern region of Romania. In the Iasi county, the green component takes the largest share in the total water footprint of crops because of the irrigation underdeveloped infrastructure, which makes the agricultural sector vulnerable to dry periods and floods as well. A monthly comparison between the blue water footprint and blue water availability shows that water scarcity varies greatly within the year, but also between years.