Lower Danube Valley Water Directorate

The Lower Danube Valley Water Directorate is a central budgetary institution with legal entity, separate operation and financial management, supervised by the minister of the Interior.

The main tasks of the organization are the following:

• Regulation of rivers, other watercourses and lakes for the purpose of water damage prevention, building of facilities for water damage prevention serving more than two settlements (primary flood protection lines, detention basins for water damage prevention, primary facilities for inland excess water prevention (hereinafter referred to as protection facilities)), maintenance and development of these facilities and protection facilities under the exclusive ownership of the state, executing protection activities on them, as well as performing water damage prevention tasks related to the water supply for agricultural activities.
• performing tasks in relation to water damage prevention, in particular the following:
  • management and performing of technical and public duties related to water damage prevention,
  • operation and maintenance of protection facilities, coordination of building and development,
  • regional planning, organization and professional management of protection activities,
  • professional management of water damage prevention tasks of local governments,
  • Data provision to local governments for developing plans required to perform public duties related to protection against water damage,
  • professional management of water damage prevention tasks of water management associations,
  • providing information regarding protection against water damage,
  • development of risk and hazard maps for the areas exposed to risk of excess water, preparing flood risk management plans,
• evaluation of spatial development concepts and programs for priority areas, regions, counties and microregions; evaluation of spatial plans for priority areas and counties;
• participates in:
  • preparing river basin management plans, implementing programs of measures,
  • performing tasks arising from international and particularly transboundary agreements,
  • research, education, pedagogical and dissemination activities in the field of water management;
• ensuring harmonization of maintenance, operation, reconstruction and development of hydraulic facilities for public purpose owned by the state or local governments, as well as hydraulic facilities for own purpose;
• implementing the Drinking Water Improvement Program;
• performing maintenance, operation and development of hydrological observation network and the monitoring of water bodies forming a part of it; collecting, processing and publishing hydrological data;
• cooperates with
  • local governments in performing water management tasks,
  • water management associations;
•  performing asset management duties with regard to state-owned assets under its management, in cooperation with the General Directorate of Water Management;
• maintaining and operating state-owned hydraulic facilities, making proposals for its reconstruction and development;
•  performing regulation, riverbed maintenance and bank protection of state-owned waters under its management;
•  conducting surface and subsurface water management, continuous monitoring of the status of water resources, registering of quantity and quality parameters, evaluation of the usability of these parameters;
•  performing tasks related to particular development activities realized using EU funds;
•  legality review of water utility associations;
•  professional supervision of water management associations;
•  performing public employment duties related to water management, realized in the framework of the Startmunka Program;
•  performing water damage prevention tasks;
•  provision of on-call duty;
•  maintenance of icebreakers.

The detailed activities of the Directorate and the rules of performance of duties are stipulated in the Directorate’s rules of procedure.