Rezervoarele

Rezervoarele are storage facilities for water that can be natural or artificial. In hydrology and civil engineering, the term refers to a basin or container designed to store, regulate, and supply water for diverse uses. Artificial surface reservoirs are created by damming a river or excavating a basin to hold back water, forming a controllable lake. Underground reservoirs store water in caves, aquifers, or porous rock formations, often used where surface storage is impractical or evaporation losses must be minimized. In everyday Romanian usage, rezervoarele also describe large municipal or industrial tanks and elevated water towers that provide pressure for distribution networks.

Functions and uses include municipal water supply, irrigation, flood control, hydropower generation, and recreational or ecological purposes. Reservoirs also serve to store drinking water, regulate seasonal flows, and capture sediment and nutrients before they reach downstream ecosystems.

Key components of artificial reservoirs typically include a dam, spillway, intake structures, outlet works, treatment facilities, and a distribution system. Design considerations address capacity and yield, catchment area, evaporation and seepage losses, sedimentation and water quality, seismic and flood safety, and the balance between human needs and environmental protection.

Environmental and social impacts may involve habitat alteration, displacement, changes in sediment regimes, and potential contamination. Sustainable management relies on monitoring, maintenance, water-quality controls, and regulated operation by utilities or government agencies.

Notable large reservoirs include Lake Powell in the United States, Lake Kariba on the Zambia–Zimbabwe border, and Lake Nasser in Egypt, among others. The term rezervoarele thus encompasses both large-scale engineered storage and smaller tanks that enable safe and reliable water distribution.