The construction of a fishing port in the area of Cape Đerana should not be started until the problem of the discharge of waste, i.e., fecal water in the Port Milena channel is solved and the revitalization of the existing sewage outlet into the sea is completed, a respected expert in hydraulics, hydrology and coastal waters assessed for "Vijesti" the processes of Prof. Ph.D Sava Petković from the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade.
Petković is an expert in the conditions of the Montenegrin, and especially the Ulcinj coastal area, Port Milena, the Bojana basin, the salt pans... He has decades of experience in research, i.e. creating studies for the revitalization of beaches or the construction of coastal infrastructure in the former SFRY, Morocco, Libya, Serbia and Montenegro.
"As the current state of water quality in the Port Milena channel is catastrophic, the water area of the future fishing port could become the most polluted site in the southern Adriatic. Namely, the circulation of water in the water area of the fishing port is negligible. Everything that enters the water area stays in it," he said. said Petković in an interview for "Vijesti".
As "Vijesti" recently announced, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) gave its consent to the study on environmental impact assessment for the fishing harbor, which according to the plan should be built on the eastern part of Cape Đerana, right in front of the mouth of Port Milena.
Petković reminded that the idea of building a marina, that is, a fishing port, in the area of Cape Đerana and the mouth of the Port Milena channel into the sea, appeared twenty years ago. He pointed out the complexity and delicacy of the problem of building a port in that locality.
"The entire area of the southern Adriatic can be exposed to the effect of waves of very high heights in the winter. For many years, the design height of waves in deep water has been taken as a value of six meters when designing structures in the sea in Montenegro. When planning and designing the fishing port in in the area of Cape Đerana, it must be taken into account that the protective breakwaters of the future fishing port will be exposed to the effect of very high waves in the winter period".
He stated that due to the very pronounced longitudinal transport of sand, under the action of waves from the southeast direction, the mouth of the Port Milena channel is constantly exposed to intensive backfilling.
"In order to prevent the intensive deposition of sand sediments in the waters of the fishing harbor, the entrance to the harbor must be far enough from the coast line. According to some rough estimates, the entrance to the fishing harbor should be located at a depth of about five meters. At the same time, this means that the breakwaters of the marina will also be exposed to the effect of waves with a height of about 5 or 6 meters".
Petković emphasized that the outer (primary) lining of the breakwater, exposed to the effect of waves between 5 and 6 meters high, cannot be made of stone blocks.
"The mass of such blocks cannot be obtained in quarries. This means that the primary lining of the breakwater must be built from concrete blocks, tetrapod, accropode, core lock..."
At marinas and fishing ports, he added, waves are not allowed to overflow the crown of the breakwater.
"This means that the height of the crown of the breakwater, at the entrance to the fishing harbor, should be about 8 to 9 meters above the level of the calm sea! Therefore, for the construction of the main breakwater of the fishing harbor, it will be necessary to dump a huge amount of stone material into the sea. According to the conceptual solution of the fishing port, which was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the area of the land part of the port will be almost 12 thousand square meters, of which almost a thousand square meters will be parking. As there is no free space on Cape Đerana, the operational coast of the fishing port can only be obtained by filling huge quantities stone material into the sea".
As the soil along the routes of the future protective breakwaters is sandy, he stated, the designer is obliged to pay special attention to the foundations of the breakwaters.
Petković assessed that in terms of the sequence of activities in the area of Cape Đerana and the mouth of the Port Milena channel, the completion of the revitalization of the existing sewage outlet would be an absolute priority.
"It would be scandalous if fecal waste water was discharged at a distance of about 100 meters from the coast. Well, there is no such thing in any major city along the Montenegrin coast. Funds to complete the revitalization of the existing sewage outlet must be found. This is not only a problem of the Municipality of Ulcinj, but and a serious problem of the Government of Montenegro. Before starting the construction of the fishing harbor, it is necessary to solve the problem of channeling waste water and bringing it to the existing pumping station on the right bank of the Port Milena channel".
In the study, which the Agency gave the green light, it is written that the current conditions in the area of the planned port have worsened, the mooring facilities are ruined, Port Milena is being polluted, the waste management system is deficient, road access is minimal, residential development is partly uncontrolled, and there is and economic discord. It is stated that the project has been discussed for twenty years, and that the Municipality of Ulcinj still does not have a real port or marina, so some of the boats are left in Port Milena. It is emphasized that Ulcinj is the most underdeveloped of the six coastal municipalities, and its economy is largely dependent on the sea and marine resources. The life of the port is projected to be around 60 years...
Petković emphasized that the news about the approval of the study on environmental impact assessment for the fishing port, about the start of dredging of sediment at the mouth of Port Milena and the rehabilitation of the first 100 meters of the underwater outlet at Cape Đerana, while further work is uncertain due to a lack of funds , interconnected, because they directly relate to the state of the environment in the wider zone of the polluted channel of Port Milena and Cape Đerana.
He reminded that the problem of water pollution in the Port Milena canal is not new and that it is very unlikely that it will be solved in a relatively short period of time.
He stated that in the text "State study of the location 'Rt Đerane - Port Milena'", from 2010, the problems of water pollution in the Port Milena channel are mentioned in several places, but that this problem was completely suppressed.
"The idea of revitalizing the Port Milena canal and connecting it with the Bojana river was not mentioned at all in the text of the DSL. That idea, as well as some other alternative solutions that would enable the flow and refreshment of water in the Port Milena canal, could be the subject of an extensive and multidisciplinary studies, the preparation of which would require appropriate field and investigative work".
Solana is the problem of Europe, and Port Milena of Montenegro
Referring to the situation in the Ulcinj salt pan, Petković said that ecological chapter 27 will not be closed until this issue is resolved, primarily "because of the unique combination of economic development and environmental protection".
"The European Union is primarily interested in all the basins of the salt pan being full of water, because this satisfies the condition that the salt pan continues to be one of the most important habitats for birds in the Mediterranean. In order to meet this condition, it is necessary to revitalize the pumping station and the pipeline that supplies the salt flats with fresh, unfiltered, seawater," he said.
He claims that the EU is not at all interested in whether there will be salt production.
"The main goal is to preserve the unique ecosystem in the Mediterranean. Hundreds of salt pans have been closed in the Mediterranean in recent decades, but they did not have the importance for birds that the Ulcinj salt pan has. Well, if that is so, then Montenegro has every right to seek help from the EU for the revitalization of the pumping station and the pipeline that supplies the pools with water. The Ulcinj salt pan is an ecological problem of Europe, that is, the EU, and Port Milena is exclusively an ecological problem of Montenegro".
If the salt pan pools were full, he added, then there would be a possibility that the contaminated water in the Port Milena channel would be refreshed with excess water from those pools.
Bird watching is a lucrative business, income even in the off-season
Petković said that bird watching could be a very important factor in the development of tourism in the surroundings of Ulcinj.
"Since the dates of classic tourism in July and August do not coincide with the periods of bird migration, the occupancy of the existing accommodation facilities in Ulcinj could be significantly increased even in the off-season."
In Croatia, he stated, in April and September, depending on the length of stay (seven or eight days) and the number of locations, bird watching prices range from 2.300 to 3.500 euros with air transportation. The last price includes 4 locations, i.e. three national parks. In Bulgaria, the price for 8 days is 2.800 euros.
"It is known that tourists who like bird watching spare no effort to provide themselves with the desired pleasure in nature. Since Montenegro is small, the stay could include all national parks. However, the area of Ulcinjsko polje and the salt pan is also large enough for bird lovers. We should not forget the well-organized Solila next to the airport in Tivat".
The water in the canal is full of carcinogenic substances
Petković assessed that the problem of Port Milena is very complex, because the canal is not only polluted by sewage discharges along its route, but also by waste water from the Bratica canal.
"The data that the civil sector has in Ulcinj shows that there are more than 150 direct discharges of waste water. The greatest pollution of canals is caused by sewage discharges. The Institute for Public Health in Podgorica has repeatedly taken samples and analyzed the water. Tests have shown that the water in Port Milena is extremely polluted, and that it has a high concentration of carcinogenic substances, heavy metals and fecal water".
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