Feces in the sea, saving on electricity

Due to the intentional shutdown of pumps at the main sewage collector and wastewater treatment plant (WTP) in Herceg Novi, about 420.000 cubic meters of unprocessed sewage spilled directly into the sea under that city this summer.

In addition to causing sea pollution and indirectly related cases of citizens falling ill, this practice also led to serious consequences at the Herzegovinian WWTP in Meljine, which is used by the so-called SBR purification technology.

This was told to "Vijesta" by the NGO "Ecological Society of Boka Kotorska" from Herceg Novi, headed by a graduate engineer in hydrology. Olivera Doklestić and former director of the Water and Sewerage Company.

Referring to data from the so-called Scada systems for electronic remote management and control of the sewage system, from that NGO, claim that the pumps at the central pumping station (PS) "Kružni tok" in Meljine were mostly turned off between April 15 and June 15, as a result of which WWTP in Meljine was left without sewage inflow and that "drought" killed bacteria-processors of waste water in the so-called SBR reactors of the plant.

"At that time, some 420.000 cubic meters of waste water were discharged directly into the sea without any purification. This must have resulted in an increased emission of unpleasant odors, a kind of ecological disaster due to the polluted sea in the Meljine-Savina water area, and an increased number of stomach and other diseases of citizens and tourists, all for the sake of saving about 40.000 euros, which, according to my estimation, the company Vodovod and sewage system built on unspent electricity in PS 'Kružni tok'. All this was done only to show at any cost a positive six-month balance in the business of the company whose founder and owner is the Municipality", Doklestić told "Vijesta".

According to her, at the end of September, the Ecological Society officially informed the councilors in the local parliament, the president of the Municipal Assembly, about this scandal Ivan Otović (Nova) and the Basic State Prosecutor's Office, and now they will send the report to the Environmental Inspection.

"The unbearable stench that has been spreading for more than six months from the WWTP in Meljine, from the main pumping station in Meljine, as well as along the Pet Danica Promenade and along the Riviera, which is the consequence of the condition of the sewage collector, has culminated this summer, and in terms of intensity far surpassed all previous years. Unpleasant, heavy breath was, unfortunately, felt, and is still felt, in a much wider range than it was in the previous period, even in the higher zones of Meljina, Savina and Nemila, in addition to the usual bad condition along the Riviera. This state of affairs has resulted in great dissatisfaction of citizens and tourists, and in many cases has reduced the tourist season, especially in Meljina," writes the Ecological Society's address to the councilors, which "Vijesti" had access to.

The memo states that during the time when the pumps were not working, untreated sewage was directly diverted into the sea.

"A concentrated amount of waste and fecal water was going into the sea, amounting to 4.000 to 6.500 cubic meters of waste and fecal water per day. This caused sea pollution and a real ecological disaster at the very beginning of summer. During those two (and more) months, when the WWTP was not working, approximately 426.000 cubic meters of waste water was released from the sewage system into the sea, with the highest concentrations in the Savina-Meljina stretch, and with the activation of all the old outlets into the sea, next to the pumping stations, and emergency outlets, which, by the way, are left to function only in the case of necessary pump failure, but with a strict rule that during the summer they must not be in operation, especially not for a long period of time due to pollution of the sea and the coast", the letter reads. .

By shutting down the WWTP itself, the biological process of treating and purifying wastewater in the so-called SBR reactors, and the bacterial flora in them, which depends on the constant inflow of new sewage, died and thus the technological process of purification was destroyed. The Ecological Society reminds that by the decision of the President of the Municipality Stevan Katić (Democrats) in March of this year to the local company Vodovod i Sewerage, which is headed by a member of the Democrats Boro Lucic, the transferred obligation to manage the technically never officially received problematic WWTP in Meljina, as well as the newly built main sewage collector in Herceg Novi, which is also full of defects and unresolved problems.

In addition to all of that, the Water and Sewerage Company has to pay all the overhead costs of the WWTP and collectors, i.e. the salaries of the employees at those facilities, so the business balances of this municipal company are overloaded, especially in a situation when the Regulatory Agency for Energy and Regulated Utilities are , the prices of water supply and sewage for consumers in Herceg Novi have already been significantly reduced.

In such circumstances, says Doklestić, the management of the Water and Sewerage Department bears direct responsibility for the exclusion from the Herceg Novi wastewater system, WWTP and part of the collector on the Riviera, in the period from April 15 to June 15, and the concentrated discharge of waste and fecal matter. they lead to the sea, in Meljina, that is, along the Riviera, through the storm drains.

They claim that from the data on electricity consumption at PS "Kružni tok" and WWTP for the period April-July 2021, 2022 and this year, it can be seen that the total consumption last year was 516.451 kilowatt hours, and this year only 313.054 kilowatt hours, and that according to based on savings made on electricity bills of several tens of thousands of euros.

The ecological society has filed a criminal complaint against the Director of Water and Sewerage, Boro Lučić, and demands that this environmental scandal be discussed in the local parliament, and that competent state inspections intervene.

"News" from the Municipality of Herceg Novi, but also from the Herceg Novi company Vodovod i Kanalizacija, did not answer the questions regarding the accusations against them of the Ecological Society of Boka Kotorska and this year's work of the sewage system and WWTP in that city.