Despite the problems in water supply on the Montenegrin coast that mark almost every summer tourist season, local water supply companies have not officially requested an increase in the minimum amount of water supplied to them from the Regional Water Supply Company this year, and problems with delivering the required amount of water and reducing the yield of the Bolje sestra water source due to illegal gravel exploitation are evident this year as well.
This was, among other things, told "Vijesti" by the Regional Water Supply Company, headed by Krsto Radović.
They stated that there were multiple meetings with representatives of local water utilities and significant interest in increasing the minimum contracted quantities, but no official conclusion of annexes to such contracts.
"The problems with water shortages that affected the Montenegrin coast last year and the fact that the Regional Water Supply System "for the first time" could not meet the demands, and the measures that were supposed to prevent this were not implemented, are some of the main reasons for the dismissal of the then management. The regional water supply system continuously delivers larger quantities of water than the contracted minimum quantities, especially in the summer months when up to 50 percent more than the contracted quantities are delivered to some local water supply systems," they stated in their responses.
The regional water supply company, they said, has consistently met every request for additional water supplies since the system was put into operation in 2010 until August 2024, with all such requests being fully met. However, due to the decline in the yield of the Bolje sestra spring, as well as "minor technical problems", for the first time it was not possible to meet requests for additional drinking water supplies.
"This situation has caused minor problems in the water supply of coastal municipalities, but at the same time has indicated the need to implement urgent measures to improve the capacity of the regional water supply system to capture additional quantities of drinking water."
The state-owned company said that activities are underway to install a drinking water purification plant that was supposed to be completed before the previous summer season and will provide an additional 100 to 115 liters per second.
"These quantities should satisfy all additional water needs during the summer season, unless, of course, some unforeseen events occur, such as major damage to local water supply systems or possible deterioration of water quality in local sources," they said.
During the past tourist season, one of the reasons for the problems with delivering the required amount of water from that company was the decrease in the yield of water sources due to the illegal exploitation of gravel from the Morača riverbed.
When asked what the current situation is in this domain, and what the current yield is, they replied that all the analyses financed by the Regional Water Supply Company in the past 10 years, and carried out by eminent experts from Montenegro, the region and the EU, showed a direct cause-and-effect relationship between the uncontrolled and illegal exploitation of gravel from the Morača riverbed and the decline in the yield of the Bolje sestra spring.
"This is a factual situation, regardless of the attempts of certain interest groups to relativize the consequences of illegal gravel exploitation and the lack of reaction from state authorities on this issue in the period before 2023. The yield of the source is currently at the level of the last two years, which further confirms the above, because the trend of declining yield of the source stopped after state authorities finally stopped, or significantly reduced, illegal gravel exploitation," they said.
They added that it is undeniable that certain competent institutions in the previous period did not react in a timely manner or meet expectations when it comes to environmental protection. However, they assessed that a new chapter is now opening - the fight against environmental crime.
They claim that the Bureau for Operational Coordination, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić, has clearly defined the fight against environmental crime as, as they stated, one of its key priorities.
"He announced the formation of a special operational group within the security sector, which will systematically and decisively deal with the suppression of environmental crime, one of the most serious challenges of modern society," they noted.
In order to strengthen the protection of the Bolje sestra spring and the surrounding sanitary protection zones, the Regional Water Supply Company will, in cooperation with the security sector and relevant institutions, introduce a video surveillance system.
This measure is part of a broader approach to improving the safety and preservation of the spring, and will be further supported by new measures that envisage the introduction of 24-hour protection for all three zones of sanitary protection of the spring.
As "Vijesti" wrote in October last year, the Ministry of Finance paid the Regional Water Supply Company 2023 euros in August 577.000 for the purchase of a temporary water purification plant, which would prevent water shortages.
The funds are intended for the purchase and installation of two water purification plants, in order to mitigate the consequences of the decline in the yield of the Bolje sestra system source, with a capacity of 100 liters per second. According to documents from the Government's website, the conclusion instructs the Regional Waterworks to continue activities on the implementation of the urgent measure of constructing a temporary weir in the Morača riverbed.
Although the project is intended to provide additional quantities of water and combat the problem of water shortage on the Montenegrin coast, the facility has not yet been installed or put into operation.
The company managed by Radović confirmed that in mid-2023, the Government provided part of the funds needed for the implementation of this investment, in order to ensure an additional quantity of drinking water for 2024.
"However, due to various obstructions by the then management, which continue to this day through certain media outlets, the investment in question was not implemented. In December 2024, after the replacement of the previous management, the implementation of the Government's conclusions regarding the procurement and installation of a drinking water purification plant with a capacity of 100 liters per second was urgently initiated," they told "Vijesti".
Measures have been taken to ensure the successful implementation of the investment, they added, albeit with a one-year delay. Equipment delivery is underway, and the plant is expected to be put into test operation in early July.
Water supply infrastructure improved in Bar
Although the Regional Water Supply Company delivered the largest possible quantities of water to the Bar municipality last year, it was still not enough to meet the city's needs during the peak tourist season.
"Depending on hydrological conditions, which can be extremely unfavorable, the available quantities of water not only from local sources but also from the regional system, as well as the need for water, problems may occur to a greater or lesser extent, usually in suburban areas where a significant number of facilities were built without proper documentation," said the Bar local company for Water Supply and Sewerage (ViK).
When asked whether and how they prepared for water supply problems this season, ViK said that repairs were made to the water supply network on a daily basis, as well as repairs to the main pipelines from the springs in the hinterland to the city, as well as the main pipelines from the local springs Kajnak and Zaljevo. Reconstructions of water manholes due to losses in the network were also carried out.
"Since the end of last summer season, work has been underway to reconstruct a part of the critical sections of the water supply network where breakdowns and therefore water supply interruptions often occurred. In this regard, in preparation for the season, the water supply network was reconstructed on several critical sections in the tourist resorts of Sutomore and Čanj," they stated.
In public procurement procedures, new water pumps were provided and then installed for the needs of water supply to settlements at higher elevations, as well as the replacement of faulty electrical components in pumping stations.
"A pump has also been purchased for the settlement of Mandarići, which is supplied from the Sustaš spring, while we are still in the process of defining the location. The pumps at the springs in the hinterland - Velje oko and Orahovo polje, as well as the pumps at the Sutomore pumping station, have also been overhauled," they said.
Bonus video:
