Lake Ceauru (project)
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Lake Ceauru () is the name of a project to build an artificial lake in
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. The work was commissioned in 1965 and the lake was to be fed from the waters of four rivers. The project was reported as completed, but only the initial building phase was carried out. Three billion lei were allocated and spent on the lake, which was supposed to cover about 200 km2, have a capacity of 150 million m3, and be located south-west of
Târgu Jiu Târgu Jiu (, is the capital city, capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu (river), Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the ...
,
Gorj County Gorj County () is a county () of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gornji'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolnji (“lower Jiu”). Demographics At the 2011 census, the count ...
. Lake Ceauru still appears on maps as of 2007.


History

Work on Lake Ceauru, conceived as a man-made lake behind a
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...
into which the waters of the rivers Jiu,
Tismana Tismana is a town in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania. It administers ten villages: Celei, Costeni, Gornovița, Isvarna, Pocruia, Racoți, Sohodol, Topești, Vâlcele, and Vânăta. History During the Byzantine period, Tismana was a major center of ...
,
Bistrița (; , archaic , Transylvanian Saxon: , ) is the capital city of Bistrița-Năsăud County, in northern Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistrița River. The city has a population of 78,877 inhabitants as of 2021 and administers s ...
and
Jaleș The Jaleș (also: ''Sohodol'') is a left tributary of the river Tismana in Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and ...
would flow, began in 1965. The last three rivers were diverted in order to fill the lake. Projects and studies were undertaken prior to the start of work. Following
expropriation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with p ...
decree 1037/1965 that June, the over 2,500 inhabitants of three villages (Bălăcești, Ceauru and Șomănești) were moved by autumn, and the existing houses demolished. In 1968 the project was reported as complete to
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...
, and it began to appear on maps. Only the first phase was ever completed. A dike was built around the planned lake, and a
weir A weir or low-head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the water level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
constructed, through which the mingled waters of the four rivers were supposed to pass. Phase two involved the building of an actual dam, with a system for closing the weir. Two functions were designated for the Ceauru Dam: to absorb floodwaters when needed, to protect the mines in the region and to supply the downstream communities, as well as the Rovinari Power Station, then under construction. The failure to complete the project was exposed when a high-ranking dignitary of the
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ; PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave an ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that would replace the social system ...
paid a visit. All the leading members of the construction team were arrested, and the director, a certain Dăncescu, was sentenced to death. Eventually, Ceaușescu commuted his sentence to 20 years' imprisonment and sent him to work on the Danube-Black Sea Canal, where he died. Local rumour suggests that the project directors used construction materials and funds for their own gain, building a number of villas with these. A dedicated intake was eventually built downstream from the planned Lake Ceauru for the Rovinari power station. This is considered an imperfect solution, as during a drought, both Rovinari and
Turceni Turceni is a town in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia ...
(located 40 km downstream) would no longer be supplied, instead being forced to recirculate cooling water, or else halt operations.


Legacy

In 2007, the mayor of
Telești Telești is a commune in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, S ...
, Constantin Drăghici, suggested that because a forest has been allowed to grow inside, tree trunks would block the weir in case of flooding, and a deluge could break open the dike. The head of the Gorj County Water Management Service countered at the time that the dike and weir are maintained by his company and that the lake bottom is being cultivated by the former owners (who have received proper title to the land). He admitted that a forest does exist and could be flooded, but dismissed the notion of a flood uprooting trees, predicting that any floodwaters would subside in up to six days. The lake still appeared on maps as of 2007 either as Lake Ceauru or as Lake Rovinari. In interviews, officials lamented the situation but blamed the lake's continuing depiction on bureaucratic obstacles.


References

*Ovidiu Ciutescu, Aura Stoenescu
"Megaescrocherie: Lacul-fantomă de la Ceauru" ("Mega-swindle: The Phantom Lake at Ceauru")
in '' Jurnalul Naţional'', June 16, 2007


External links


Map of Gorj County, with Lake Ceauru shown to the south-west of Târgu Jiu
{{coord, 44.95459, N, 23.16012, E, region:RO_type:landmark, display=title Geography of Gorj County Ceauru Lake Cancelled projects in Romania