Before developing the main designs for the facilities of the future settlement on Velje Brdo, it is necessary to carry out dedicated detailed hydrogeological research, because this area may have a direct connection with the Mareza spring. After the research, it is necessary to prepare the main design for determining and maintaining the zones and belts of sanitary protection of the Mareza spring, because it is expected that the area planned for the settlement is located in the second and third zones of sanitary protection of the water source.
This was stated, among other things, in the Preliminary Hydrogeological Study on the Possible Impact of the Construction of the Velje Brdo Settlement on the Mareza Spring, which was published yesterday by the Ministry of Public Works.
Hydrologist Slavko Hrvačević told "Vijesti" yesterday that the now requested detailed hydrogeological research of this scope would take at least 15 months, or that a final reliable result could be obtained in at least two years, and that any shortening of these deadlines would be professionally unfounded and potentially risky for the security of Podgorica's water supply.
Postponement of deadlines even in the event of a positive result
When the government first presented the idea of building a settlement on Velje Brdo with 15 apartments before the elections in September 2024, the first move-in was announced for mid-2026, while in recent months officials have been citing the end of 2027 as the new deadline for the first move-ins.
Now, the official scientific paper requested and paid for by the Ministry of Public Works states that detailed hydrogeological research and a main design of the protection zone are prerequisites for starting the development of the settlement project and obtaining the first construction permits. The minimum deadlines for this are at least two years from the start of the research.
"Given that the Mareza spring supplies water to a large number of Podgorica residents, and that any potential threat to the spring would have incalculable consequences for the capital but also for the whole of Montenegro, it is necessary to carry out comprehensive hydrogeological research in order to permanently protect the spring," the study states.
Direct connection between Velji Brdo and Mareza
The preliminary study was conducted by the company "Geoprojekt" from Podgorica based on previous hydrogeological research in the Mareza area, as well as hydrogeological and seismological maps and subsurfaces of the Podgorica and Danilovgrad areas that were conducted in the 80s.
"All this imposes the assumption that parts of the karst-fissure aquifer formed in the area covered by the general urban plan (Velje brdo) may have a direct hydraulic connection with the Mareza spring. This particularly applies to the northern and northeastern slopes of Velje brdo, although other parts of the terrain covered by the plan cannot be ruled out for the time being. Of course, this should be examined by conducting detailed hydrogeological research. Karst-fissure aquifers are characterized by rapid water exchange. In the event that a pollutant reaches the aquifer waters, it most often appears very quickly in the springs that drain the aquifer. It is clear that due to these facts, special attention must be paid to the protection of the Mareza spring," the study states.
The Minister of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, 20 days ago, presented the selected conceptual design for the first residential block of the first phase of the future Velje Brdo settlement with 557 apartments. The conceptual design stated, among other things, that these first buildings would be temporarily built with septic tanks, until the sewage network from Velje Brdo to the new plant being built near the village of Botun, which is 11 kilometers away, is completed.
Buildings and septic tanks in the second protection zone
The conceptual design is the basis for the development of the main project of the settlement, after which a building permit can be issued.
This preliminary study states that detailed hydrogeological research of the Velje Brdo area and the Mareza spring must be conducted before the development of the main design for the future settlement, which means that the main design and building permit would have to await positive findings from detailed research that the settlement on Velje Brdo will not endanger the main city spring.
"Before developing the main projects for the facilities of the future settlement, it is necessary to conduct dedicated detailed hydrogeological research, and after the results are obtained, a main project for determining and maintaining the zones and belts of sanitary protection of the 'Mareza' spring will be developed, within which detailed protection measures for the Mareza spring will be prescribed," the study states.
There is a study on sanitary protection for the Mareza spring in 1997, but the main design of the sanitary protection zones was never done, so they are not clearly defined, which is why the authors of the study state that the main design of the sanitary protection zones is a necessary document before the development of the main design of the settlement.
"For the initial design phases, until hydrogeological research is carried out, it is necessary to assume that parts of the terrain covered by the general urban plan can be found in zones II or III of sanitary protection of the source," the study stated.
They point out that according to the current Regulation on the determination and maintenance of zones and belts of sanitary protection of water sources and restrictions in those zones, in the II protection zone it is prohibited to carry out works, construct facilities and carry out activities that may pollute the water of the water source, in particular: discharge of untreated wastewater; disposal of waste, including disposal in sanitary landfills; construction of roads without a system of controlled drainage and purification of atmospheric waters,...
It was also stated that in the third protection zone, the discharge of untreated wastewater is prohibited, as is the construction of roads without an atmospheric water purification system.
Since they expect that part of the area planned for the new settlement by the spatial plan will be in the II and III protection zones, the proposal from the selected conceptual design to have the first block of buildings with septic tanks until the sewage network to the new facility in Botun is completed is questioned.
Water from the boulevard also needs to be purified.
At a ceremony on March 25, the government officially announced the start of preparatory works on the future Velje Brdo boulevard, stating that the preparatory works of removing vegetation and leveling the route for the boulevard would be completed by the end of July this year, after which construction of the boulevard would begin.
This boulevard will be 30 meters wide, have four traffic lanes and are 5,3 kilometers long. That is, its surface area alone, without access streets and parking lots, would be 160 thousand square meters. Three years ago, Podgorica recorded 170 liters of rain in 24 hours, which would be 27 million liters per day on the surface of this boulevard, which would have to go somewhere. At the presentation of the conceptual design of the boulevard project from December last year, it was not stated that it would have an atmospheric water purifier, which, as stated in this study, is necessary if the road is located in the second or third protection zone of the source.
One of the protective measures listed in the study is that during the works on Velje Brdo, no spills of even minimal amounts of mineral oils, fuels, lubricants, etc. should occur.
Hrvačević: Shortening the research would be professionally unfounded
Hydrologist Slavko Hrvačević, MSc, told "Vijesti" yesterday that detailed hydrogeological research of this type is a complex, multi-phase and time-consuming process.
"Given that this is a karst terrain and a spring that supplies about 70% of the population of Podgorica, the minimum duration of the research is one hydrological year, or about 15 months of continuous observations and measurements. The reason for this is the need to cover all hydrological regimes - from minimum to maximum waters - in order to reliably define the directions and speeds of groundwater movement, as well as possible hydraulic connections between the planned settlement of Velje Brdo and the Mareza spring. The entire process includes several interconnected phases: conducting tender procedures for the selection of the contractor for the research work, then conducting field research, long-term observations and measurements of hydrogeological parameters, as well as processing and interpreting the collected data and preparing expert reports and technical documentation. After the completion of the field research, the phase of preparing technical documentation (studies, studies and projects of sanitary protection zones of the spring) follows, which also requires additional time," said Hrvačević.
He states that the study published yesterday is preliminary in nature and was conducted without field research, and that it cannot, in itself, provide definitive answers about the impact of the planned settlement on the spring.
"Due to the nature of karst-fissure aquifers, which are characterized by rapid circulation of groundwater, any pollution can be transferred to the source very quickly. For this reason, before any urbanization of this area, it is necessary to conduct comprehensive and long-term hydrogeological research and make responsible and professionally based decisions based on them. Taking into account all the above phases - from the preparation and implementation of the tender, through the execution of works and months of observations, to the preparation of final technical documentation - it is realistic to expect that reliable and applicable results can be achieved within at least two years, and any attempt to shorten this process would be professionally unfounded and potentially risky for the safety of water supply," said Hrvačević.
New springs in Tološka šuma, Sadine, Rogami and Zagorič
In order to replenish the city water system with water that would go from Mareza to the new settlement on Velje Brdo with a population of 44 thousand, new sources - wells could be created in Tološka šuma (the part where the trim track is), Sadine, in Rogami below the current highway interchange and at the Krnjevine locations in Zagorič (the part between the Morača River and the settlement behind the cemetery).
This was stated in the Preliminary Hydrogeological Study on potential locations of new water supply sources in the Podgorica area, which was published yesterday by the Ministry of Public Works.
The Podgorica-based company "Vodovod i kanalizacija" previously informed the Ministry of Public Works that it cannot issue them with the conditions for connecting the future settlement of Velje Brdo to the water supply and sewage network until detailed geological research of the Mareza zone is completed and until new sources are explored that would replenish the city system with the water needed for 44 thousand residents of Velje Brdo.
The study states that in these locations the water is located beneath a deep layer of clay and is protected from surface pollutants, and that protected zone systems could be established.
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