Sustainable management of the Bega channel [articol]

Abstract

For hundreds of years, the Bega Channel was one of the most circulated rivers in the southwestern part of Europe. It was open to navigation in November 1728. For more than a century, until the construction of the first railways, the Bega Channel was the main way of transporting goods. Timisoara and Bega Channel have been mutually conditioned over the centuries. The Bega Channel is, in many ways, one of the defining elements of Timisoara, and can be considered a backbone of the city. Bega is of urban, aesthetic and life-like importance (it is a source of water and a small amount of food, can become an important element for city traffic and, at the same time, a living boulevard). Bega Channel also is part of the hydrotechnical system Costei - Topolovat, with the role of defending the city of Timişoara against floods, but also to provide a water flow channel for periods of drought, for water supply of the city. Currently, Bega Channel have a number of problems: high degree of water pollution, clogging of the bottom bed (which leads to the impossibility of re-shipping), and destruction of aquatic ecosystems. The objective of this paper is to present a short history, functions, problems and projects for sustainable management of Bega Channel.