Regional water supply: Bolje sestre water source again attacked by excavators

The Director of the Public Enterprise "Regional Waterworks of the Montenegrin Coast" Josip Đurašković filed a report today with the Directorate for Inspection Affairs and the Podgorica Security Center due to the illegal exploitation of gravel in the Botun settlement, which threatens the key water source that supplies the Montenegrin coast - Bolje sestre. This was confirmed by News in that state-owned company.

The employees of that company took photos and video material showing exploitation, which were handed over to the authorities along with the report.

"Illegal exploitation of gravel, i.e. uncontrolled removal of gravel layers that represent the protection of the karst site 'Bolje Sestre', reduces the protective belt of alluvium around the source and makes it susceptible to the penetration of possible pollution. Therefore, preventing the uncontrolled exploitation of gravel is a very important segment in the protection of springs. Today in the afternoon hours (at 15:35 p.m.) on the left wing of the Morača coast in the locality of Botun (sanitary protection zone of the Bolje Sestre water source), Podgorica Municipality, construction machinery was observed for unauthorized exploitation of gravel and sand - a yellow excavator and an orange truck". it is stated in the application that Vijesti had access to.

According to reports, the criminal police of CB Podgorica were informed by telephone.

The new management of "Regional Vodvodek", led by Đurašković, immediately launched intensive activities to prevent uncontrolled exploitation of gravel, which reduced the yield of the Bolje sestre spring.

The problem of uncontrolled exploitation of gravel was recently pointed out by the Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism, Ratko Mitrović, who pointed out that the yield has dropped several times, from 2660 l/s in August 2005 to 335 l/s in September. 2020

One of the key reasons for the dismissal of the former director of the Regional Waterworks, Goran Jevrić, stated by Zoran Lakušić, the president of the Board of Directors of the Regional Waterworks, is unconscionable work around the source of Bolje sestre.

"That the yield of the Bolje Sestre source, from which six coastal municipalities are supplied with water for a decade and a half, has been reduced by more than 80 percent. Because he did not undertake activities in accordance with his responsibilities based on the data on the reduction of the yield below the projected capacity of the water supply system and that this situation "represents a serious danger, and that during the tourist season the coast could be without enough water. It did not respond adequately to the drastic trend of decreasing yield of the Bolje sestre water source," said Lakušić in the explanation of Jevrić's dismissal.

The board of directors appointed Đurašković, who prioritized activities related to the preservation of the source of Bolje sestre as a priority in his work.