Sustainable Water Management Strategies in the Context of Climate Change: Case Study - Zabala River in the Putna Watershed

This paper aims to highlight the importance of regulating water uses in the context of sustainable water resources management. This approach is based on a coherent policy and an appropriate strategy, adapted to the current socio-economic conditions of Romania and to the requirements of European policy in this field. The latter is dominated by the implementation in national legislation of the provisions of the Water Framework Directive 60/2000/EEC. In recent years, in the catchment of the Zabala stream, there has been particularly heavy rainfall, which has led to a significant increase in the flow rates. These peak flows have caused significant damage, including the formation of floods on the Zabala watercourse. These floods caused erosion, endangering individual households, annexes, agricultural land, access roads and communal roads near the watercourse. To significantly reduce the risk of flooding, investment in defence works is needed. These works aim to stop bank erosion and optimise the flow of water into the riverbed, thus giving stability to the bank.