Water management

River basins and water resources

The country can be divided into three main river basins:

- The Dnestr (called `Nistru' in Moldova) basin. It covers about 57% of the country. The Dnestr rises in Ukraine and forms the border between Ukraine and Moldova in parts of the north, northeast and southeast before flowing back into Ukraine, where it continues for some 20 km before reaching the Black Sea with an average annual discharge of 10 km³.

- The Danube basin. It covers about 35% of the country. The Prut River, a tributary of the Danube, rises in Ukraine and forms the border between Moldova and Romania before flowing into the Danube just after crossing the border into Ukraine. The Danube River then continues for about 125 km before flowing into the Black Sea. Where the Prut River becomes the border between Romania and Moldova, its average annual flow is estimated at 2.9 km³. Its average discharge into the Danube is also estimated at 2.9 km³/year, which would mean that all the water generated between the northern and southern parts within Moldova and Romania is used. There are a number of small seasonal tributaries of the Danube in southern Moldova that flow into the Danube after having crossed the border to Ukraine.

- The southern basins. In the south of the country, between the Dnestr and the Danube basins, several other rivers rise and flow across the border into Ukraine and then into the Black Sea. Their basins cover about 8% of the country.

More information
(http://www.fao.org/countryprofiles/index.asp?lang=en&iso3=MDA&subj=4)