Vízügyi Közlemények, 1973 (55. évfolyam)

4. füzet - Rövidebb közlemények és beszámolók

average. By 1985 it is envisaged to attain a specific drainage capacity of 37 lit/sec.sq.km, reducing thereby the average drainage time to 10—14 days. The first attempts at irrigation in Hungary were made at the beginning of the 19th century, but the first major step in this direction was the promulgation of the Irrigation Act in 1937. This permitted the construction of the Békésszentandrás Weir on the Körös River, a tributary of the Tisza, and of the Tiszafüred irrigation section supplied with water diverted from the Tisza River. Floating diversions appeared in the 1950'ies and the Tiszalök Barrage with the attached irrigation sections was inaugurated in 1954. By means of the Eastern Main Canals, which is part of the Tiszalök Barrage Project, it was possible to transfer water from the Tisza River into the Körös Valley. The area equipped for irrigation in the country increased by 430 thousand hectares, of which two-thirds are in the Tisza Valley. In the development programme an irrigated area of 800,000 hectares is envisaged by 1985, of which 60% will be situated in the Tisza catchment. The Kisköre Barrage inaugurated recently (see paper 1.2) will supply an area of 312,000 hectares from the 300 million cu.m reservoir created thereby. The fish farms constructed in the Tisza Valley represent 58% of the total 26,000 hectares pond area in the country. Water supply will be improved in 23 communities development within the range of the Kisköre Barrage. In this area the stored surface supplies will assume an importance comparable to that of subsurface water resources. At the same time, corollary to growing water uses, pollution control will also assume great importance, calling for institutional measures. After the canalization of the Tisza River over its full length and after the construction of the Danube

—Tisza Canal already contemplated, water transportation in the area is expected to increase significantly, at a rate commensurate with the economic development of the region. The complex water management projects will, at the same time, turn into centers of water-borne recreation. Assuming a minimum growth rate for water demands, the necessary supply will correspond to a continuous flow of 270 cu.m sec by 1985, which is in excess of the natural discharge in the river, available in the critical period. The water balance for the critical month August in 1970 indicated a local water shortage of 18 cu.m/sec in the Tisza catchment. Together with the water projects in the Körös Valley, the Kisköre Barrage Development will provide an additional discharge of round 100 cu.m,'sec in the critical period by 1985 (Fig. 1.1—7). According to the water distribution plans for the Tisza Valley, in the critical period in 1985, the Kisköre Development will feed 82 cu.m/sec to the Nagykunság Main Canal on the left-hand bank, and 48 cu.m/sec to the Jászság Main Canal on the right-hand bank, in the final stage of development. The beneficial effects of the Kisköre Barrage are illustrated in Fig. 1.1—8. In the comprehensive water management system realized by the full canalization of the Tisza River, five barrages will operate on the Hungarian 260