How to connect the Berettyo with the Körös

Hungary and Romania will jointly improve the water management of the Berettyó and Sebes-Körös rivers with EU funds, thus improving the water balance in water-scarce areas, the Körös-Vidéki Water Management Directorate (Kövizig), which is participating in the programme, said.

According to the announcement, the so-called Interreg programme involves, in addition to Kövizig, the water management directorates of Transdanubia and Oradea, and the municipality of Szalárd in Bihor county.

The total cost of the project, which has a 100% aid intensity, is €1.9 million (around HUF 738 million at the current mid-market exchange rate), of which €550,000 will go to Kövizig. 80 percent of the funding is provided by the European Regional Development Fund and 20 percent by domestic co-financing for the Hungarian partners, they said.

They are also building a water-exhibit

Within 30 months, Kövizign has to design a gravity transfer pipeline that can transfer part of the Sebes-Körös water to the Black Körös, while providing surplus water to the areas bordered by the Sebes, the Kettős, the Black Körös and the national border.

During the project implementation, a water permit plan (including an environmental impact assessment) for the canal linking the Sebes, Kettős and Fekete-Körös rivers will be prepared, as well as a water permit plan for the water intake plant in Sebes-Körös.

44 km of canal planned

It is planned that the connecting canal, almost 44,000 river metres long, will be able to carry a flow of around 4-6 cubic metres of water per second to Sarkad. In addition, the Biharugra main intake's surge feeder channel will be reconstructed: dredging and lining repairs will be carried out to achieve greater water safety and reduce evaporation losses.

The project will end on 12 September 2027, the press release said.