September thirst again in Herceg Novi

Negotiation Chapter 27 with the European Union, whose essence is the preservation of the environment for future generations, will be one of the most important and most difficult to close for Montenegro. EU environmental regulations are extremely extensive and of the highest quality compared to all other chapters. These regulations cover a large number of areas, the most important of which are water quality and waste management.

The EU Water Framework Directive, which came into force on 22 December 12, states that “water is not a commercial product like any other, but a heritage that needs to be preserved, protected and acted upon accordingly.”. Water is a common heritage whose value everyone must know. It is everyone's duty to preserve it and use it carefully.

There is no progress in Montenegro that improves the quality of life of the local population. All previous activities in our country are fictitious and are reduced to the mere adoption of EU regulations. This is only the first step in adapting to EU standards, which represents a third of the conditions for closing Chapter 27.

Since our "ecological state" has not eliminated environmental threats at the source of pollution, which was simpler and more economical - we will now have to borrow and spend billions of euros on investments at the state and local levels in infrastructure. The largest cost will be in the water sector.

Montenegro's water potential is impressive and represents our most valuable resource, which we will most likely not preserve for future generations, because we behave as if life ends with us.

Nothing is sacred to us, not even the largest project of all time, implemented under the name: “Regional Water Supply of the Montenegrin Coast”. The “ecological state” is powerless to prevent the enormous exploitation of gravel in the Morača River bed, which negatively affects the yield of the “Bolje sestre” spring. How powerless our state is is shown by the fact that it cannot even prevent the construction of catering facilities in the area of ​​the “Bolje sestre” spring. Without a regional water supply system, whose yield is constantly decreasing due to greed and current profits, we will not be able to count on tourism on the Montenegrin Coast.

The clear Morača watercourse to Podgorica, which all European countries would be proud of - the capital city "ennobles" two-thirds of its untreated sewage, polluting Lake Skadar in the process.

That water means life, Herceg Novi confirms these September days, due to water restrictions that have lasted for more than three decades. Imagine what a recommendation is for a country that needs to join the EU when tourist facilities have advertisements saying: "There is water". The citizens of Herceg Novi receive water twice a day for two hours - so I can best understand the residents of Gaza. The water that arrives during these times is practically not usable for drinking, because due to major damage to the network (loss of over 60%), each time it is turned on, it draws in impurities around the damaged water supply network. Herceg Novi had very high-quality springs in the village of Mojdež from which the city used to be supplied, but on 28. 2. 2004. due to the greed of newly formed businessmen who, in their desire to make a commercial product out of water, performed unprofessional work in the Potkop hydrotunnel, they caused a large landslide, about 12 hectares, destroying the springs as well as the village of Mojdež itself.

These days, we are left with only the Opačica spring in Zelenica, from which the city receives water twice a day for two hours. Since we are future Europeans, it is very interesting how we behave towards this most important spring. Back in 2007, in my “Study on the Negative Impact of Diffuse Pollutants on the Water Area of ​​Meljina and Zelenika” that I did for the Public Company for Coastal Zone Management of Montenegro from Budva, I pointed out a large number of septic tanks in the protection zone of the Opačica spring, providing an overview of the owners and cadastral plots where they were identified.

At the last session of the Herceg Novi Municipal Assembly, the former director of the Public Company Water Supply and Sewage announced the startling fact that the number of residential buildings, or rather septic tanks, in the area of ​​the Opačica spring has increased enormously and that it amounts to 500 units. This fact speaks of the total negligence of the Herceg Novi Municipality, which in the 10 years since the construction of the collector, has failed to build a secondary sewage system and protect the Opačica spring. Also, the road that passes a few meters from the spring has not been relocated.

Even the cemeteries in the immediate vicinity are expanding.

The fact that there is no regular emptying of septic tanks (except for incidental situations) confirms that all the pits are absorbent. They are a great danger, because they are located on karst terrain, which is porous and simply lets water through cracks, polluting groundwater, so we have a situation where with a small amount of pollution, we pollute large amounts of water. And finally, in a few days we will have water from Plat again and for who knows how many times we will forget everything, and the loss of tourists due to water restrictions, the government will compensate us, as it did last year, by organizing very expensive New Year's concerts by Ceca and Desingerica and other folk starlets.

The author is a senior research associate at the "Dr. Simo Milošević" Institute, Igalo