The inhabitants of the Pannonian Plain have always been closely tied to water: the more water, the greater the troubles it brings. Relentlessly, they waged an exhausting battle against water, which brought both benefits and immense hardships. This eternal human desire to tame the destructive force of water is evident in the traces of ruined dikes and canals along rivers and streams, as well as in the settlements that sought refuge at higher altitudes.
These tremendous efforts to harness and utilize water were neither small nor insignificant, but their benefits were often less than anticipated. All the works related to the early dikes and canals were noteworthy, considering the era in which they were built. Even the first dikes brought significant benefits to the people; swamps and marshes began to retreat from the vast and boundless Vojvodinian plain as the water's destructive power started to lose the battle.
The rapid increase in population due to migrations and colonization demanded more arable land. While there was land available, it needed to be reclaimed from the water.
For these reasons, in 1781, an order was issued from Vienna to construct dikes in Banat along the Tisa River. The works were organized and executed by the Torontal County from Veliki Bečkerek and the Great Kikinda District. The construction was primarily carried out by forced laborers (known as kulačari), resulting in poorly executed and unprofessional work. Additionally, the dikes were inadequately sized, leading to frequent breaches and overflows during high waters. Such poorly built dikes failed to protect the designated sectors, rendering the results insignificant.
Organized construction of dikes began in 1822 along the Tisa and Mureș rivers. The decision to build the dikes was made by the County Assembly, and the plans were drafted by the chief county engineer. The work was still performed by forced laborers from various municipalities, under the supervision of district officials. Records indicate that the authorities took the construction of dikes seriously. However, in 1830, severe floods breached the dike north of Novi Kneževac, submerging 300,000–400,000 jutros of land and reaching as far as Vršac.
As a result, in 1837, the County authorities issued regulations for flood protection with specific obligations. Yet, even this time, the results were unsatisfactory, as the work continued to rely on forced labor with limited resources, since neither the County nor the municipalities had sufficient funds for such projects.
However, 1840 marked a turning point in the construction approach. A law passed by the Hungarian Parliament abolished the obligation of dike construction through forced labor and transferred it to the landowners directly concerned. The law also enabled the establishment of cooperatives by interested parties to continue the construction and maintenance of flood protection structures.
The measures undertaken by the County focused on determining flood-prone areas, which included only parcels identified as swamps and marshlands.
This created the conditions for the establishment of water cooperatives.
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