Even though they are on the shore of Lake Skadar and close to the city center, even though the entire coast is supplied with water from the territory of their municipality of Boljesestre, the inhabitants of lower Lješanska nahija, i.e. the local community of Barutana, have been struggling with dry taps for two years.
An electricity debt of 200.000 euros turned off the pump in their village's water supply system in June 2010, and since then 450 households in this area have been managing as best they know how to provide water.
The consequences of that problem are striking - and just a cursory look at the gardens and barns of the locals shows how much damage livestock and agriculture have suffered in this part of the municipality.
"We are constantly promised that the problem will be solved, and the solution is prolonged indefinitely. We already have enormous damages, the livestock fund has been halved, vines, tobacco, fruit and vegetables have suffered. We are in a situation where the debt from the waterworks to EPCG 200.000 euros, while the debt of the locals for the water used is 25.000 euros, and we had two people who were paid to collect money from the locals for water.
Instead of solving our water problem for all time by connecting to the regional water supply during its construction because it is on our territory, our water supply was connected to Mareza in 2006, but not to receive water from it, but to divert water there from our catchment if it fails. Nothing else has been done in all of this, except that JP Vodovod repaired the pumps, but we still don't have water," dissatisfied locals point out to "Vijesta".
They add that the new water price of 40 cents per cubic meter is high "and before that it was up to three times more expensive than in the city". The local water supply was built 24 years ago by the self-contribution of the locals, who for five full years allocated three percent of their salary for the construction.
The water used was paid according to the balance on the water meters, and the accounts were issued and the money was collected by two members of the formed board for water supply management.
The money thus collected was transferred to EPCG to pay for the electricity used at the plant. In the meantime, since the power to the pumping stations was turned off, the local water supply was taken over by the Barutana Municipality Board.
"The Board of the Ministry of Health has entered into an agreement on business and technical cooperation with JP Vodovod, which stipulates that the water company will repair and reconstruct our waterworks, to maintain its technical correctness, to charge for the consumed water and pay this money to the account of the Ministry of Health so that we can transfer it to EPCG for the electricity used .
With 35.000 euros, Vodovod Podgorica has already repaired the pumping plant in the Lisica catchment, and there is a 400 cubic meter tank in Gornji Kokoti, so it is in operation, the water can flow tomorrow, just to settle the electricity debt. The contract stipulates that a cubic meter of this water costs 40 cents," says Ivan Vukčević, president of the Barutana Municipal Health Board.
In front of the Ministry of Health committee, he asked for help from the Ministry of Economy and Agriculture and the Capital City.
The capital city agreed to take over part of the debt and the Ministry of Economy to take over the difference, with the 20.000 euro debt owed by the locals for used water, which was the amount on the day the power was turned off at the plant in June 2010, being settled within the MoZ.
They hope for a solution by the summer
The local water supply had already incurred a debt for electricity of 200.000 euros once before, but this was resolved by the summer of 2008 with the help of the Capital City. When asked by "Vijesti" how such a large bill arose again two years later, Vukčević said that water theft, i.e. non-payment of water bills, was the first cause, and besides, EPCG invoices consumption for this plant at the industrial rate, which has no basis. - Earlier, for the three months of 2008, costs of 15.000 euros were calculated for electricity, which would mean that the pumps do not stop working. In any case, we do not have precise dates, but we hope that we will still get water by the summer - said Vukčević.
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