The project will reconnect 1.5 km of free-flowing river by demolishing three obsolete concrete weirs on the Vâlsan River in Romania, reconnecting the critically endangered Asprete - Europe’s rarest freshwater fish - to its last remaining habitat, and eliminating severe pollution risks from degraded sewage infrastructure, benefiting both biodiversity conservation and local community health.
The Vâlsan River, located in the southern Făgăraș Mountains and Getic Sub-Carpathians in Romania, is a high-biodiversity mountain river within the Argeș catchment and the sole remaining habitat of the critically endangered Asprete (Romanichthys valsanicola). Stretching 83 km and draining 358 km², it flows through the Brădetu sector of the Natura 2000 site Valea Vâlsanului (ROSCI0268), a 9,582 ha protected area that hosts 13 species of Community interest and two Annex I habitats: Luzulo-Fagetum beech forests and alluvial alder-ash forests.
Embedded within a landscape of montane forests, riparian corridors and traditional agricultural areas, the river’s cold-water regime and structurally diverse substrate support sensitive benthic fauna including Asprete, Transylvanian bullhead, stone gudgeon, mountain barbel and golden loaches. Much of the valley overlaps with the Valea Vâlsanului Nature Reserve (code 2125) and ROSCI0122 Făgăraș Mountains, underscoring its exceptional ecological importance.
| Project status | Live |
|---|---|
| Project type | Dam removal: demolition |
| Country | Romania |
| River | Vâlsan |
| Km to be opened | 1.5 km |
| Removal timeline | April - September 2026 |
| Focal species | Asprete, Transylvanian bullhead, Mountain barbel, Stone gudgeon, Romanian golden loach, Balkan golden loach |
| Organisation | Fundatia Centura Verde in partnership with Fauna & Flora |
| Website | aspretelives.ro/ |
Previous studies funded by the Open Rivers Programme confirmed that the three targeted weirs are complete barriers to upstream migration for the critically endangered Asprete, with only 181 individuals detected across its 10 km range (official monitoring data, October 2025). Despite the river’s high ecological value, these outdated structures fragment habitat, disrupt flow and sediment transport, and confine individuals to small downstream refuges, reducing reproductive success and genetic diversity.
Two of the weirs contain corroding sewage pipelines, and at one site these pipes are exposed, creating ecological and public-health risks during floods. Local authorities lack the capacity to remove these obsolete barriers or relocate failing infrastructure, and national funding schemes do not support such specialist work. With feasibility studies, ecological assessments and stakeholder engagement completed, ORP has a unique opportunity to enable a high-impact, replicable barrier-removal model for Romania.
The project’s primary goal is to re-establish continuous longitudinal connectivity along 1.5 km upstream in the Vâlsan River by removing three concrete weirs that fragment the habitat of the critically endangered Asprete. Demolition will restore natural flow, sediment dynamics and ecological processes essential for fish movement, spawning, feeding and refuge. The project will also eliminate a significant pollution hazard by replacing and siphoning degraded sewage pipelines currently embedded in two of the weirs, improving water quality and safeguarding local communities.
Ecological outcomes include increased distribution of Asprete individuals, improved genetic exchange between isolated groups and enhanced habitat quality for native fish and aquatic invertebrates. Social and public-health outcomes include reduced pollution risk, improved infrastructure safety and strengthened community confidence in river restoration.
Politically, the project will serve as Romania’s first best-practice example of integrated dam removal combined with critical utility relocation, inspiring future national efforts and contributing to EU Biodiversity Strategy and Nature Restoration Law objectives.
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