Bucharest, 12 November 2008 – Works to make the dam and related structures nearby Novăţ decantation pond (Baia Borşa mine, Maramureş county) more secure were accepted formally and commissioned on 12 November 2008, under Component D of the project „Hazard Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness”, which is cofinanced by the Government of Romania and the World Bank.
The dam body was reshaped (by incrementing the downstream slope angle) and the capping was elevated to enhance the dam stability and the retention capacity of the pond and make it more secure. Upgrades were also made to retain the debris (rocks, tree trunks, etc.) that Novăţ brings down during floods, just upstream of the pond before the intake of the high-water baffle system. The access road from Baia Borşa was reshaped and strengthened along 12 km to improve the access to the pond so that works can be monitored. All works amounted to 5.2 million lei.
On top of these reinforcement works, the local mine will be closed down, too, and all structures and buildings attached to it will also be secured. Works will also include the interception and evacuation of drainage off the slopes bordering the pond and also the impermeation of the decantation pond in order to minimize the exfiltration of pollutants (cyanide, heavy metals, etc.) from the pond to the downstream bodies of water. The area will also be remediated totally and that will include the dam slopes, the basin of the pond and the area downstream off the dam.
These works that have been performed under the management of the National Agency for Mineral Resources diminish substantially the risk of an ecological catastrophe such as the one that happened in March 2000, when an accidental spillage of the water that had accumulated in the pond after a dam breakdown polluted river Tisa severely, which had severe repercussions on Romania’s foreign relationships with the Ukraine and Hungary and alerted the international community.
For more information on the World Bank's work in Romania, visit:
www.worldbank.org.ro
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