Inland waterways combined with

hydropower plants in Romania

Florica POPA
Bogdan POPA
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

Interior resources:
1,700 m3/year inhabitant, or
3,250 m3/year inhabitant taking into
account the Danube
4,864 watercourses 78,905 km long
(inventoried and coded)
Accession to the European Union on the 1st of January 2007, together with Bulgaria
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ Romania has a great experience in hydropower engineering with almost 6.7 GW

installed in about 110 large HPPs and 600 SHPPs (according with the EU definition
adopted in national legislation, HPPs having the installed capacity smaller or at
most equal to 10 MW).

❑ The first HPP in Romania is Peles, built on Peles river in 1884, for lighting the
gardens of Peles Castle, the summer residence of the kings of Romania, built by
the first king, Carol I (1866 – 1914), between 1873 and 1884.

❑ The plant has a head of 125 m, an installed capacity of 150 l/s, equipped with
two Girard turbines, 500 rot/min, having a power of about 150 kW and a smaller
Girard turbine, of only about 3 kW power, for lightning during the day.
Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ HIDROELECTRICA owns:
104 dams of which 89 large dams (height > 10 m and the volume > 1 Mm3),
out of which:
8 have height >100 m, the highest being Gura Apelor dam with height = 168 m;
6 have the volume >100 Mm3, the largest storage is Portile de Fier I,
volume = 2,100 Mm3;
~ 350 km of headraces and tailrace tunnels;
~ 750 km underground under-pressure or free-level galleries;
~ 650 km contour dams (dykes) at the storages with a permanent retention;
143 secondary catchments;
129 buildings of HPPs with installed capacities over 4 MW.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ Looking for waterways in Romania we find:

“Romania is actually something like a peninsula; two thirds of the country are
encircled by water. In the south, River Danube forms the border to Bulgaria,
followed by the Black Sea and in the east, another river, River Prut, forms the
border to Moldova. Apart of the two short canals of Bega and Black-Sea-Canal,
the country doesn't have its own navigable waterways.”
❑ As waterways, for Romania are:
Bega canal, Danube – Black Sea Canal, River Danube and River Prut.
❑ Bega Canal is 69 km length, 40 km straight in Romania starting from
Timisoara and 29 km in Serbia where it has a confluence with River Bega which
flows into River Tisa.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ The Romanian waterways network has a total length of about 1700 km and is
composed by: River Danube and his secondary arms, Danube – Black Sea Canal,
64.2 km, and Poarta Alba – Midia Navodari, 31.2 km.
❑According to the Belgrade Convention (1948), the Danube is divided as
- the Danube maritime sector (185 km), comprised between Braila and the
Sulina council, a navigable route in which ships with drafts of up to 0,7 m are
allowed in the Romanian ports of Sulina (limited access to the deposit bar and
alluviums), Tulcea, Galati and Braila as well as in the Ukrainian ports Ismail
and Reni;
- River Danube sector (approximately 900 km), from the Braila area to Nera
mouth, where only river navigation is practiced.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ It should be mentioned that, at this moment, downstream the navigation and

hydropower system (NHPS) Portile de Fier II the navigation is possible on the
River Danube, in average, only 250 days/year.
❑ Feasible existing projects of
two international waterways:
❑ one from Gdansk to Galati, linking Baltic Sea and the Black Sea,
❑ the navigation and hydropower system (NHPS) Turnu Magurele – Nicopol
(1972-1993) on the River Danube, and
two inland waterways: Canal Danube – Bucharest and Canal Siret – Baragan.
❑ The development of River Prut is presented as part of the international
waterway Gdansk – Galati.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ The current waterway is 8,000 – 10,000 km length, while…

the waterway Gdansk – Galati, linking Baltic Sea to Black Sea,
on Vistula-San-Nistru-Prut-Danube is 1,900 km length from which…
only 72 km excavated canals.

❑ The first sector of the canal is between the Prut and the Nistru river, 20.8 km
length, which should be made in a partnership formed by Romania, the Republic
of Moldova and Ukraine, and the second section is between Nistru and San, on
the territory of Ukraine.

❑ From the point of view of the Romanian side, the Prut represents the eastern
border with Ukraine on 31 km and with the Republic of Moldova on 716 km.
Inland waterways combined with
hydropower plants in Romania
Landing point
Ștefănești
International nav igation w ay
Gdansk – Galati
(Baltic Sea – Black Sea) Landing point Trifești
Year 1970

Landing point Țuțora

The development of
River Prut: part of the
international waterway Landing point Dânceni

Gdansk – Galati

Landing point Fălciu

Landing point Oancea

 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

Hydro-technical node (HN) Vt [Mm3] Pi [MW] Em [GWh/yr]

ROMANESTI 11 9.3 25.45
BIVOLARI 26 9.3 25.45
TRIFESTI 16 9.3 25.45
SCULENI 35 9.3 25.45
BERESTI 33 9.3 25.45
BARBOENI 48 9.3 26.10
DANCA 48 9.3 26.10
VETRISOAIA 62 9.3 26.10
OANCEA 114 9.3 26.10
Total 393 83.7 231.65
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ Navigation and hydropower system (NHPS) Turnu Magurele – Nicopol represents

the development of hydropower potential of the Danube river sector between
NHPS Portile de Fier II, Km 862,80 and Km 580,65 (measured on the Danube
river), where the complex NHPS will be built. Some data regarding the
development are presented:
- length of common sector Serbia – Romania: 17 km;
- length of common sector Bulgaria – Romania: 265 km;
- altitudes studied for normal retention levels (NRLs): 29.5; 30.75 and 32 MABSL
(meters above Baltic sea level); choice: 30.75 MABSL
- slope of the Danube river is about 4 cm/km;
- tributaries: on left riverbank: Jiu river and Olt river, on right riverbank: Timoc
(border between Serbia and Bulgaria), Lom, Ogosta, Iskăr, Vit, Osăm.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ For a proper technical and economic efficiency analysis, under the current
circumstances, it is necessary:
- resumption of support studies in the chosen location: topographical elevations,
real cost assessment of occupied land, hydrological study, study of the inclusion
in the national power system, etc.;
- reassessment of energy parameters through the updating of supporting studies
and equipping the HN at current standards;
- updating of the investment for the works in the retention front (dams, plants,
navigation locks – constructions and equipment), as well as those related to the
two banks (dykes, drains, pumping stations, defence works of localities, etc.).
Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

Navigation and hydropower system

(NHPS) Turnu Magurele – Nicopol,
downstream NHPS Portile de Fier II,
on the Danube river
Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

Port Glina
Operational
capacity: 4 Mt/y

Dam

River Danube – Bucharest canal

Dâmbov ița river development
Length = 32 km

Port 1 Decembrie Bridge

and conf luence
Operational
capacity: 15 Mt/y
Port Oltenița
Operational capacity:
Danube – Bucharest canal River 2 Mt/y
Argeș riv er dev elopment
Length = 71 km
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ The first navigable canal develops along the river Argeş between the Danube
km 0 + 500, Oltenita port, and km 73 + 000, 1 December port, south of
Bucharest (L ≈ 72 + 500 km).
❑ It has an N-E orientation, bypassing Bucharest to the south, it traverses the
Romanian Plain starting with the 1 Decembrie village (downstream of the
Mihăileşti reservoir), passing by the villages of Adunaţii Copăceni, Gosteşti,
Hotarele, Budesti, Radovanu, Curcani and Olteniţa.
❑ In the upstream area the access is made on DN (National Road) 5 Bucharest –
Giurgiu, and in the downstream area of Budesti (HN 2) on DN4 Bucharest -
Oltenita. Upstream of Gotickyari, the canal is crossed by the oldest (railway)
Bucharest - Giurgiu - Ruse.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

NH4 NH3 NH2 NH1 Tanganu Cucuiesti

Characteristics M.U.
Arges Arges Arges Arges Dambovita Dambovita

Upstream level MABSL 63.00 50.00 37.00 24.00 51.60 44.30

Downstream
MABSL 50.00 37.00 24.00 12.40 44.30 37.00
level
Gross head m 13.00 13.00 13.00 11.60 7.30 7.30
Installed flow m3/s 55.00 55.00 55.00 55.00 24 24
Installed
MW 5.92 5.92 5.92 5.25 1.41 1.41
capacity
Annual energy GWh/y 21.97 20.62 36.04 31.12 8.56 8.04
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ The Siret-Baragan magistral canal consists of two Reservoi r

sections: Siret – Buzau and Buzau – Ialomita.

❑ The natural sources intended to feed the main canal are:
- Siret river, from the reservoirs Adjud, Galbeni-Răcăciuni-
Bereşti and Izvorul Muntelui reservoir on Bistrita river,
totalising a storage available for irrigation of 1,000 Mm3;
- Putna river;
- Buzau river, from Dambroca reservoir, which has a useful
storage of 90 Mm3;
- Danube river, through direct pumping during the irrigation
Reservoir
period or pumping process in Sarata lake, which has a
useful storage of 140 Mm3.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

❑ Romania has some experience in hydropower engineering with

almost 7 GW installed about 110 large HPPs and 600 SHPPs.

❑ The paper presents a brief history and inventory of hydropower in

Romania as well as existing waterways and waterways intended
to be realized at their different stages of development.

❑ It is underlined the importance of the development of

international and inland waterways and the possibility to combine
further development with hydropower plants.
 Inland waterways combined with hydropower plants in Romania

International nav igation w ay

Gdansk – Galati
(Baltic Sea – Black Sea)
Year 1970

Peleș (1884), the oldest SHPP in

Romania. Photo: Bogdan Popa