DIGITALNA ARHIVA ŠUMARSKOG LISTA
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ŠUMARSKI LIST 13/2005 str. 108     <-- 108 -->        PDF

V. Ivančević: BIOLOGICAL AND TECHNICAL REGULATION OF THE SENJ TORRENT "TORRLNTF." ... Šumarski list SUPI.F.MENT (2005). 91-109
was built in the form of an arch 56.81 m long, 1.5 m
thick at the top, 14.08 m wide and 1.95 m deep. It was
supported by the foundations, which were built in the
main current 2.0 m deep on average. The whole barrier
was built of broken stone with a transversal volume of
0.5-1.0 m . A walled tcrrazzo of dressed stone was
built beneath the central part of the barrier. The outer
sides were built of dressed stone. Portland cement
from Trifail was used as bonding material. A total of
1,038 m3 of partially or completely dressed stone was
used, costing 20,828 florins. The work was done by an
entrepreneur called Herman Erlich, while work in the
field was managed by Vjekoslav Horaček, a civil
engineer (Figure 6). It should be pointed out that the
construction was completed in a very short period of
only six months (Lapaine, 1892).


A large number of drainage canals, embankments,
bank walls and other smaller engineering constructions
were built on the unstable slopes and banks. Torrent
regulation activities in Croatia were intensified
with the passing of the Torrent Act in 1895, which,
among other things, solved the problem of torrent financing
in a satisfactory manner. A preserved act of
1907 contains a case of unlawful grazing in the
Paškvanac - Osornjak culture within the Senjska Draga
torrential area." A commission of the Krajina Investment
Fund inspected the mentioned area and warned
the forest ranger of an omission related to grazing in
the torrential area. According to the valid legal regulations
of that period, an official person was authorised
to kill any cattle found in the torrential area without
any prior warning. In 1908, the Royal Land Government
sent a torrent technician and forest supervisor
Stcvan Petrović into the area to complete the regulation
of the Senjska Draga torrents. The Governor
(Ban) allocated 1,170 crowns from the funds of the
Krajina Investment Fund for this purpose.´


Although biological and technical operations in
Senjska Draga were completed in 1910, damage from
torrents was not yet fully eliminated. According to a
writing of 1928, the Senj torrent in Senjska Draga sometimes
inflicted damage to private land by eroding
the already small amounts of cultivated soil into the
sea. The last bigger quantity of water from the Senj
torrent was recorded in Sijaset in 1960, when large
amounts of sand, pebbles and soil were brought under
the walls of the former forest ranger´s house (Šafar,
1962). In a short period after the First World War the
Inspectorate was responsible for torrent regulation and
maintenance.


2 HDA, 3283UOZV, 14. 7. 1907.


3 Šumarski list, 1908.


"Katastar bujica" is kept in the specialised library of the former


Water Utility Company in Zagreb.


According to the preserved "Torrent Land Register",
in the periods 1891-95 and 1931-35, a total of 15
transversal barriers were constructed, as well as eight
longitudinal constructions, 1060 m3 of walls, 108 m of
waterfall bases and bank supports, 253 m3 of drywall,
451 m3 of dams and 514 m3 of canals, costing 24,000
crowns and 333,853 dinars4 in all. Far more extensive
work was accomplished in the first period of 1891-95
than in the second period of 1931-35, which mainly related
to repairs. As much as 90 % of all the means was
spent until 1918 and only 10 % was spent after this period.
According to K o v a č e v i ć (1981), 62 torrential
facilities were built in all, among which special mention
should be made of the seven massive transversal
barriers. Earthwork operations involved 12,000 m3 of
canals and 3,000 m3 of dams. A quantity of 13,900 m3
of stone was used for the construction work (5,500 m3
for the drywall and 8,400 m3 for other facilities).


Biological operations accounted for 82 % and technical
operations for only 18 % of the total means invested
into the reclamation of Senjska Draga. In the opinion
of many Croatian and foreign experts, the impressive
results achieved by the forestry and the civil engineering
profession in regulating Senjska Draga rank
among the most successful endeavours in the whole
Mediterranean area. The forestry profession should
shortlist the most successful biological-technical achievements
in order to pronounce them monuments of
technical culture. This would greatly contribute to the
valorisation of Senjska Draga, the Town of Senj and
the wider area from the standpoint of tourism and recreation.
Furthermore, allowing the water to pass through
the regulated torrential channel to the sea from the
former Senj aqueduct, as well as re-activating the existing
town fountains would create a very particular and
almost idyllic picture of the Town of Senj. This area
would become an oasis of water surrounded by the
arid, waterless karst landscape. As the boundaries of
Velebit Nature Park run almost through the centre of
Senjska Draga, it would be advisable to undertake the
necessary legal measures to expand the boundaries to
encompass its entire area.