Suspending the procedures related to the construction of the water supply system, which provides the necessary quantities of drinking water, sanitary needs, fire protection and snowmaking of the ski slopes of the mountain centers "Kolašin 1600" and "Kolašin 1450", is the request of the majority of several dozen participants of the public hearing on the Elaborate environmental impact assessments for that project.
They also requested a change in the project, which, they said, would follow after serious analyzes and with the participation of the public. For the water supply of buildings on Bjelasica and snowmaking of the ski slopes, 400l/s is planned to be taken from the source of the Ljevaja River, on which the small hydroelectric power plant Mušovića Rijeka is located in the village of the same name. The largest part of the water, 260l/s, would be used for snowmaking on the trails at the private and state ski-center, 30l/s is intended for the water supply of facilities at the two mountain centers, that is, hotels and villas, while 110l/s is intended for the water supply of the city.
As explained by the secretary for urban planning, Ljiljana Rakočević, at the initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development, the municipality of Kolašin and the Waterworks provided the conditions for the implementation of the projects. The then President of the Municipality Milosav Bulatović made a decision declaring the waterworks for water supply and snowmaking to be an object of general interest.
Residents of Mušovica Rijeka and several other villages, environmental activists, employed at MHE... claim that the project is oversized, ecologically and economically problematic.
The students of the public hearing said that the fact that the snowmaking of the ski slopes, along with the water supply, is included in the project and declared to be of public interest is a possible criminal offense. Locals and activists claim that they are not against the extraction of water for water supply, but they consider it scandalous that most drinking water is taken for snowmaking.
They claim that there is water for those needs in Bjelasica, right next to the ski center. They reminded that part of the water from the Klisura tunnel, below Bjelasica, is directed to the private MHP towards Andrijevica, and that a private MHP has already been built on the Paljevinska river, which is much closer to the ski resort.
Ratko Čogurić said that the project envisages significantly more water for snowmaking, compared to the previously stated needs of the ski center.
According to the previous conceptual solution from 2016, he reminded, 160l/s was foreseen for the needs of snowmaking. He warned that due to the enormous costs for electricity, which will be used for the pumps that pump water up the mountain, water will be more expensive for the citizens of Kolašin.
"The water supply system will be managed by the company Vodovod i Kanalizacija, which will present its costs to the Regulatory Agency, and based on that, the price of water will be determined for all users. It is not true that the same product will cost differently for different consumers. We had a gravity water supply system, which now has no electricity costs, and because of that the price of water is acceptable," said Čogurić.
Member of the GP URA Miodrag Vlahović said that Kolašin has been without significant amounts of water in recent years. As he claims, a large amount of water from Mateševo is used for the needs of the highway, which, he explained, is 200l/s. According to him, the water from the tunnel under Bjelasica, 100l/s, increases the capacity of private hydropower plants. This significantly changed, he explained, the Tara catchment area.
"You packed drinking water and technical water into the same project. For some private individuals, who are building in Bjelasica, it is economically profitable, but it is to the detriment of the public interest. The snowmaking project should be well analyzed from the aspect of sustainability. Our tenders, public procurement and projects are managed by equipment suppliers. That is, many projects are affected by the type and amount of one's equipment in stock. In this project, pumps are planned, for which 20.000 euros will be spent on monthly maintenance alone," he said.
Vlahović recalled the income of the MHE Mušovića Rijeka, which, he claims, contributes more to the state budget than the Kolašin ski resorts.
According to Aleksandar Dožić, there are cheaper ways to provide enough water for Kolašin. At the site of the current water source for the city's water supply, he claims, "there is still probably 30-40 l/s that can be additionally used".
Radovan Đukanović, director of HPP Perućica, which includes the HPP in Mušovića Rijeka, said that the EP was not informed or consulted when designing the project and all procedures. He claims that he found out about the public discussion about the study by accident the day before.
"We are an interested party, and we were not involved in any way. For the HPP, which is now operating at maximum power, we use water from the Ljevaja River. In 2018, we received from the Municipality of Kolašin UTU to use all available water from the river. Who is after In 2018, UTU gave someone else to capture water for some other needs? Our interest is in the protection of the HPP, which is both a cultural asset and, of course, profitable in our system. As long as the operation of our HPP is not threatened, we will not challenge the project. In the moment we don't have enough water for the operation of the HPP, we will use all legal means to protect ourselves," he said.
The Vice President of the Municipality Vasilije Ivanović, the President of the SO Vasilije Bualtović and the new Acting Director of Water Supply and Sewerage Miloš Peković reminded that they "inherited" the project for water supply and snowmaking of the trails from the previous government. They said that every project, including that project, which is implemented in Kolašin, will first of all aim to benefit the citizens, and that they are open to suggestions.
The participants of the public discussion did not leave much space for the representatives of the line ministry and the Municipality to present the details of the projects.
Bonus video:
