by Ywenne Kleiss (Water Authority Drents Overijsselse Delta)
If you ever want to feel what it’s like to have 2 weeks of sights, information and fun in 2 days- you should come to a Wetskills in Romania. It’s great to explore water issues and feel the energy of a group of excited water-enthusiasts after the online years of Covid-19.
During the intro days we tasted first bites of the culture and dove straight into the water-related issues. Our first visit was to a hydropower plant in Sinaia. The plant’s 4 turbines have been converting water energy into electricity for the region for 100 years already. The building’s classical architecture was a stark contrast with its industrial heart, but operated symbiotically. We reached the second stop while meandering through the Romanian mountain range near the historic city of Brasov, where we explored the 3 main stages of water treatment at the wastewater treatment plant. We saw first hand how the raw water was transformed into clean water within only a few hours.
Climbing further up into the mountain range, we saw the sun set on the Piatra Craiului and shared a Romanian meal getting ready for the next day: visiting the castle of Dracula! Now that’s a challenge! Now that we learned things about the Romanian past, we are ready to tackle the problems of the present and future.
