The red water of the Macak stream and the Gračanica river, in Nikšićka Župa, caused by the spilling of waste water from the Biočki stan mine, does not affect the survival of fish, the findings of the Center for Ecotoxicological Testing (CETI) showed.
As "Vijesti" was told by the company "Uniprom Metali", which manages the aforementioned mine, CETI carried out an analysis of the content of aluminum, iron, manganese and titanium, elements whose combined components make up the largest percentage of bauxite, as well as analyzes of chemical consumption of oxygen, water turbidity and content of suspended particles.
"The results of the analyzes showed that the torrential stream on the Seoca plateau contains an increased number of suspended particles, as well as water turbidity, while all other parameters are within the maximum allowed concentration (MDK)," Uniprom metals announced.
The mentioned parameters in the water of the Macak stream exceed the maximum allowed concentration and, as they claim, the torrential stream from the Seoca plateau has no major influence on the water quality in the said stream.
"In addition to the influence of the Macak stream, the Liverovići lake is also influenced by other torrential streams from the surrounding hills. The sampling results taken near the dam show a lower value of the mentioned parameters than MDK".
As "Uniprom Metali" points out, water turbidity also occurred in 2005, and comparative data show that then the water from the Seoca plateau did not comply with the Rulebook on the quality of waste water and the method of its discharge into the recipient, while based on the results from March 2018. "states that increased turbidity does not affect the fish stock in the lake".
And the Inspectorate for Freshwater Fisheries stated that the turbidity of the water in the Macak stream, as well as in Lake Liverovići, does not affect the survival of fish.
The Nikšić Secretariat for Inspection Affairs responded to "News" that on March 19, the communal inspector, together with the mining, ecological and freshwater fisheries inspector, went out to the field to determine the situation, and that the communal inspector Tamara Antović went out again on May 8 field, after the letter from the Directorate for Inspection Affairs and the report on the examination carried out by CETI.
"No irregularity was found on the spot. The municipal inspector was accompanied by the director of Uniprom Metali, Marcin Baczynski, who said that two water clarifiers had been renovated and that a project was being developed that would address the drainage problem in detail. Communal inspectors will continue to carry out occasional checks in cooperation with other inspections," the Secretariat for Inspection Affairs informed "Vijesta".
The appearance of red water in the waters occurred on March 18, and the mining inspection determined that heavy rainfall was "to blame". However, even two months after the rains stopped, red water was still flowing through the Macak stream and the Gračanica river, which reached Lake Liverovići, and the inhabitants of Župa, as well as the Council and Local Communities and the NGO "Župa u srcu" and the Society of Young Environmentalists are more expressed their displeasure that the residents of that region are not aware of the extent and whether their health and the environment are threatened due to such a situation. The organization "Župa u srcu" announced, after none of the competent institutions they contacted answered what the water tests showed, that "they will try to hire a certified institution from the region that will carry out sampling of the water coming out of the mine in Macak ” because "due to the behavior of the institutions, they doubt the validity of any data and their good intentions".
CETI took water samples on March 20
The Directorate for Inspection Affairs told "Vijesta" that on March 20, the team of the Center for Ecotoxicological Testing, at the request of the company "Uniprom Metali", took water samples "in order to assess the impact of torrential waters from the underground shaft of the Seoca mine on the water regime of the streams Macak and Gračanica River". It was announced that the Environmental Inspection came into possession of that report on April 26 and that it was submitted for further processing to the Secretariat for Inspection Supervision, as the competent inspection.
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