On the main line of the Kolasin water supply, the pipes burst four times last week. All these accidents happened on the infrastructure that is in the body of the road from Kolašin to Jezerine, that is, towards the Klisura tunnel.
Repairing the malfunctions cost about 25.000 euros, many working hours were spent by the employees of the Water and Sewerage Department, who were on duty both in the rain and during the night, and several Kolašin settlements were without water for hours...
Residents of the settlements along the road claim that the damage to the water infrastructure is caused by heavy traffic, especially freight traffic, and that there are visible dents in the asphalt in several places on the road. All vehicles from and to the Klisura tunnel, which is part of the Kolašin-Berane regional road, pass through the non-conditional road from the city to Jezerine. According to data from the automatic traffic counter, a total of 1 vehicles passed that road from August 31 to August 191.795. On average, 6.187 vehicles passed through that section per day.
Executive Director of Water and Sewerage Milos Pekovic says it's very possible that heavy traffic caused the pipe to burst. As he explains, all four failures occurred on a stretch of 800 meters in the Smailagića Polje settlement.
"Of course, I cannot say for sure, but it is very possible that the pipe burst was caused by frequent traffic. We have never had cases where there were so many failures on the main pipeline in such a short period of time. We should not ignore the fact that these are pipes that are over 40 years old, that they are asbestos-cement, worn out...", explains Peković.
He says that the Water and Sewerage Department has prepared project documentation for four large projects, which, if money is provided for their implementation, should significantly improve the condition of the Kolasin water and sewerage network. When it comes to the main pipeline from Mušović Rijeka, where the source of the city's water supply is, to the city, Peković says that the reconstruction of the road to the Klisura tunnel has been announced. According to him, along with the reconstruction, the existing ones should be replaced with new polyethylene pipes.
The executive director of Water and Sewerage reminds that the company, which operates with numerous financial challenges, has repaired over 350 defects for the year. According to him, the aggravating circumstance is that they do not have machinery, so there are numerous problems when engaging the machines of private owners, which is necessary to eliminate some malfunctions.
In the streets of Boško Rašović and Milivoje Bulatović, a new water supply network was installed last year, so 500 meters of the main asbestos pipeline was replaced with new polyethylene pipes, and new valves and fittings were installed in several main shafts. However, this is only the beginning of the extensive and expensive works that should lead to an optimal condition in the Kolašin water supply.
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