Water resources management in Vojvodina province

Vojvodina's unique relationship with water is a direct consequence of its geographical location in the central part of the Danube basin. This has meant that the control and management of the water has been a major condition for the survival of the people living in this area. The plain region of Vojvodina is distinguished by relatively favourable climate, soil and hydrological characteristics. However, in the course of the last two centuries extensive measures have been undertaken on the protection of the region against unfavourable action of external waters, land protection against excess water, as well as on the development of irrigation systems. All these measures have created the conditions that made possible fine regulation of the water-air regime as the basis for highly profitable and stable agricultural production and the development of the region as a whole. On the territory of Vojvodina there is the canal network of a total length more than 15 000 km. This network enables reliable and timely drainage of water. The dense network of canals is also used as a source of water for irrigation. Irrigation has become an indispensable and not an auxiliary measure in Vojvodina. It can be said that the region is rich in water and has a relatively dense hydrological network but a main characteristic is the large quantity of transit waters. At the present, about 40 000 ha are irrigated. Those areas that have available sources of water, primarily surface watercourses and accumulations, serve for growing mercantile crops, seeds and vegetables. With the exception of the northern Backa region, irrigation of perennial plantations is not still widely practised. Irrigation is mostly carried out with the aid of large-span equipment. The available quantities of water are sufficient for irrigating much larger areas of agricultural land, but the problem of suitability of these waters for irrigation has recently arisen. The influence of soil and watercourses as recipients of industrial and municipal wastewaters has resulted in the degradation of the surface water quality. Besides, from the aspect of irrigation, water mineralization has an adverse effect, especially in the spring months, which significantly limits the possibility of using this water for irrigation. It can be assumed that in the existing circumstances of irrigation in Vojvodina there are no problems in supplying the necessary amounts of water. This statement is supported by the richness of the natural watercourses-the Danube, the Tisa, the Sava, along with the BCN HS DTD. However, the problem of suitability of the water for irrigation is becoming more and more acute. This paper presents a creative way of living with water in Vojvodina. Such a way enables the potential of the water system to be employed more than in the past. Moreover, the management system offers the prospect of solving the major problems at the moment. The social use and the functioning of the water system as an ecosystem will thus be improved, with the entire accompanying social and economic benefits.