Hydrometeorology and Water Management during the Communist Regime. The State Committee and the National Council of Waters, 1956-1989
Hydrometeorology and Water Management during the Communist Regime. The State Committee and the National Council of Waters, 1956-1989

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the evolution of hydrometeorology and water management in communist Romania through an analysis of the State Committee of Waters and its successor, the National Council of Waters, between 1956 and 1989. Drawing on archival documents, memoir literature, and the legislative framework, the study reconstructs the institutional stages, areas of competence, organizational structures, and leadership dynamics of these bodies. It highlights the growing centralization of water governance and the expansion of technocratic responsibilities in the fields of infrastructure development, environmental protection, and flood defense. The article also addresses the gap between ambitious planning objectives and the practical constraints imposed by resource shortages and political decision-making. By situating water management within the broader context of socialist governance, the study contributes to the historiography of environmental administration under state socialism.

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