Feces in the sea again: Inglorious start to the tourist season in Budva

Another tourist season in Budva begins with scenes that no city that aspires to be a regional tourist destination should allow.

Feces once again spilled into the canal between the popular restaurants on Slovenska Beach itself, flowing freely into the sea in full view of numerous swimmers.

"Contagion threatens tourists", "Faeces are flowing into the sea", are just some of the headlines in regional media, which reported information about the environmental incident that occurred over the weekend in the Montenegrin capital of tourism. Bad advertising ahead of the main season, from which the city, but also the state, expects a lot, hoping that the war events in the Middle East will help Montenegro to attract as many guests as possible.

Unfortunately, Budva has not had a permanent solution to the serious shortcomings of wastewater drainage and management for decades.

Although the city has spent tens of millions of euros building a wastewater treatment plant in the Bečići neighborhood of Vještica, sewage spills, especially during the summer, have become a frequent occurrence. The daily sewage spills only confirm that the city is still dealing with the consequences, while the causes remain unresolved.

Budva Waterworks submitted a written statement stating that this problem cannot be viewed solely as a failure of the sewage infrastructure they manage.

"According to the findings from the field so far, one of the key causes is the existence of illegal connections of fecal sewage to storm sewers. Such connections represent a serious communal, ecological and sanitary problem, especially in the coastal zone and during the tourist season," they said in a statement.

Budva Waterworks teams, they add, are working intensively on identifying and removing illegal connections, in coordination with the competent municipal inspection and police, the municipal company points out.

And often, the Grđevica River is also targeted by illegal connections, whose bed, especially during the summer months, dries up, and it becomes a place for dumping waste, but also for spilling faeces.

Unfortunately, Grđevica is not just a municipal problem today. It is a development issue for Budva. In the area that represents the hinterland of Slovenska plaža, the city's most important tourist zone, the discussion continues about sewage, instead of the amenities, public space and quality of life that should characterize a modern Mediterranean destination.

As a reminder, the Municipality of Budva is announcing a major infrastructure project right on the Grđevica riverbed, announcing a tender for the selection of a contractor worth 18 million euros, which would "close" the riverbed with a road. In addition, the budget has allocated additional money for the supervision and supporting works of this largest infrastructure project in the city's history.

The project envisages connecting the main city boulevard with the city bypass, thereby relieving traffic congestion and improving the functioning of the city.

The question is whether the investment, which immediately came under attack from the opposition, which believes that a promenade should be built, rather than a road, will solve the problem that makes Budva the center of attention every summer.

What is certain, and what tourism professionals have been pointing out for years, is that until the sewage network, separation of fecal and stormwater, and capacity of the wastewater collection system are resolved, Budva will remain exposed to the risk of the same problems recurring.

MK Group presents the transformation of Grđevica

The development vision for the Tourist Resort "Slovenska plaža" and the Hotel Group "Budvanska rivijera", worth more than 700 million euros, presented by the MK Group last year, presents serious infrastructure solutions for the most critical part of Budva where environmental incidents occur.

Unlike current plans that are predominantly focused on traffic infrastructure, this presented vision for the development of Slovenska plaza, which has received the green light from the city administration and is awaiting a decision from the Government, implies a broader transformation of the Grđevica area, including the development of canals, green corridors, new public facilities and the integration of this area with the rest of the city. Grđevica and the entire locality are not seen only as a problem that needs to be remediated, but as an area that can gain new value.

The experiences of developed tourist cities show that the most problematic spots are not bypassed, but are transformed into new city symbols. Currently, this part of the city remains between large investment plans, administrative procedures and seasonal problems that recur every summer.