Measures to Prevent Surface Leaks in a Periurban Area Using Responsible Environmental Approaches

Abstract

Climate change and environmental degradation are an existential threat for Romania and for the whole world. Restoring nature will be a central element of the EU's recovery plan from the coronavirus pandemic, providing immediate investment opportunities to revive the European economy. Both urban and industrial developments are changing landscapes from vegetated permeable surfaces to a series of interconnected impermeable surfaces, resulting in large amounts of rainwater runoff, which requires management. Rainwater runoff is treated by the authorities as a liability and a nuisance that endangers human health and property. Starting from this aspect, over time, systems for collecting and transporting rainwater directly to watercourses have been designed, but without considering the conservation of ecosystems. Rainwater runoff is a source of pollutants washed off hard or compacted surfaces during rain events. These pollutants can be pesticides, herbicides, hydrocarbons, traces of metals but also organic compounds. Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), Low Impact Development (LID), Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) are spatial planning and technical design approaches that integrate the urban water cycle, including stormwater management, groundwater and wastewater and water supply, in urban design to minimize environmental degradation and improve aesthetic and recreational attraction. The article presents possible solutions applicable to a locality in the west of Romania that is facing the drainage of meteoric waters. This locality was one of the most affected by the recent floods, with over 6,700 ha of almost destroyed crops, 300 flooded houses, 70% of compromised gardens, the most affected being the new residential neighbourhoods. Timiş County is one of the Romania counties with the largest network of hydrotechnical arrangements (about 480,000 ha on which hydro-amelioration works are executed and over 11,500 km of drainage, irrigation, and soil erosion control channels), it risks becoming a swamp again due to the indifference or ignorance of some of the decision - makers, the lack of appropriate legislation, the non - application of the existing one and the low underfunding after 1990.