D-CLEAN in the Banat Region, Romania

D-CLEAN pilot area feature | Romania, Timiș River basin

In the western part of Romania's Banat region, six neighbouring villages share a river landscape of high ecological value and a common need: better wastewater management that works in harmony with nature. This is the setting of the D-CLEAN pilot area in the commune of Racovița, Timiș County.

The pilot area lies within the Timiș River basin, a tributary of the Danube. It includes six nearby villages: Racovița, S“rbova, Hitiș, Drăgoiești, Ficătar and Căpăt. Together they form a compact rural cluster along the river, within the Natura 2000 protected corridor of Lunca Timișului.

A water supply network is already in place, but the area still lacks a comprehensive wastewater collection system. There is no sewer network and no wastewater treatment plant. There is also no stormwater facility: surface runoff and rainwater are managed via open ditches and street gutters.

Because the villages lie along the Timiș, improving how wastewater and rainwater are managed here can make a difference not only locally, but also downstream for the wider Danube region.

The close-knit cluster of six villages makes it possible to explore shared and coordinated solutions that fit local conditions. At the same time, the protected status of the Lunca Timișului corridor means that any measure must be environmentally friendly and work in harmony with nature.

With no comprehensive sewage system in place, there is a unique opportunity to introduce modern, nature-based solutions from the ground up: approaches that can manage wastewater and runoff safely, reduce pollution and flooding risks, and protect nearby habitats. By testing them in a sensitive and realistic setting, the pilot can demonstrate practical models that other riverside and protected communities can follow.

D-CLEAN, Improving Water Quality in the Danube River Basin: Nature-Based Solutions for Sustainable Wastewater and Stormwater Management in Small Settlements, works in pilot areas across the Danube River Basin because every small community faces its own challenges: different landscapes, different risks and different local rules. In each pilot area, local communities, experts and decision-makers come together to design solutions that truly fit local needs. By testing ideas on the ground, the pilots show what works, what doesn't, and how sustainable, decentralised solutions can be scaled up to benefit many other communities across the region.

• 27 October 2026: Study visit in Vienna.

• 22 February 2027: Training 2 (DST) in Timișoara.

• Location: commune of Racovița, Timiș County, Banat region, Romania

• Villages: Racovița, S“rbova, Hitiș, Drăgoiești, Ficătar, Căpăt

• River basin: Timiș, a tributary of the Danube

• Protected area: Natura 2000 corridor of Lunca Timișului

• Sewer network: none

• Stormwater facility: none; runoff and rainwater are managed via open ditches and street gutters

• Wastewater treatment plant: none

The Banat pilot flyer is available in English and Romanian in the D-CLEAN library.