Denada Jushi
A monitoring campaign on water bodies in Albania, implemented by the H2H Foundation in collaboration with Art Kontakt and North Green Association, in June 2025, exposed an uncomfortable truth: from the urban lakes of Tirana, to Prespa and Shkodra, from drainage canals to the Hamallaj coast, most water bodies bear simultaneous urban and agricultural pressures, high bacterial load and risk of eutrophication, with direct consequences for public health, the local economy and the path towards EU standards.
On a hot June morning, the promenade over the dam of Tirana's Artificial Lake is bustling with joggers. Children stop at street vendors and on the lakeshore, bicycles pass quickly, and bubbles occasionally break the silence on the dark, murky surface of the water. Beneath the alleys heavily frequented by Tirana's citizens lies a disturbing reality: old sewage networks, illegal connections, sewage leaks that, according to June analyses, have transformed the lake into an area with a high bacterial load, unsuitable for contact. This is not an exception. It is the pattern.
The assessment campaign took samples at 14 representative points in the municipalities of Shkodër, Vau i Dejës, Elbasan, Tirana, Durrës, Shijak, Fier and Pustec: from Bovilla, the heart of the capital's water supply, to Farka, Belshi, Tregani, Funari, Rubjekë, Lake Tafanëve; from the Hamallaj Hydroelectric Plant/Adriatic Sea to the Vau i Dejës Reservoir, Lake Shkodër and Greater Prespa. The goal? To fill monitoring gaps, identify pollution sources, and link the figures to real uses: drinking, irrigation, recreation, aquaculture.
"Although each water body had its own unique characteristics and problems, what shocked us most was the extent of the spread of fecal and chemical pollution throughout the monitored water system, from urban lakes to drainage canals and agricultural reservoirs," says Erjon Kalaja, Water Resources Management Expert at H2H Foundation.
The main result is brutal in its simplicity: massively widespread pollution. Most water bodies exhibit high turbidity, increased nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) and, most importantly, severe microbiological excesses (E. coli, coliforms, enterococci).
“One of the most alarming findings was the high presence of Escherichia coli and total coliforms in most water bodies, including lakes with recreational use such as Farka, Tirana Artificial, Belshi, Funari, Tregani and Tafanët. These values significantly exceeded the permitted limits according to EU and WHO standards,” continues aji.
Pressure scheme: city, farm, canal
The report describes a familiar triangle: untreated urban water, agricultural runoff and poor waste management. Specific cases, such as the Lifeline in Roskovec–Hoxharë, also raise the alarm for very high levels of oil and grease, a signal of uncontrolled industrial and urban interventions, with high risks for river ecosystems and water users.
In recreational areas, such as Farka and the Artificial Lake of Tirana, the bacterial load eliminates contact uses: swimming, rowing, water sports, triathlons, etc. In the Tregan Reservoir (Elbasan), turbidity and phosphates are so high that they make the water problematic even for irrigation; in Belsh and Lake Tafanëve a similar picture emerges: high microbes, pH outside the limits, and the risk of eutrophication.
"The pollution observed indicates uncontrolled urbanization, lack of functional sewage systems, and discharges of untreated water into water bodies. Urban lakes have become repositories of urban waste, reflecting a lack of environmental planning and institutional deadlock in the management of urban infrastructure."
Erjon Castle
He further adds that the situation is alarming, especially considering the numerous activities that take place on these lakes, such as the Tirana Triathlon in Farka or family vacations by the water.
“Samples show high levels of E. coli and coliforms, which make the water unsafe for swimming or recreational use. Even using the Artificial Lake water for watering greenery can spread fecal contamination to the soil and vegetation,” he concludes.
Even the positive cases, Shkodra and Prespa, are not at all calm: the physico-chemical parameters are generally good, but the microbiology spoils the average. Without a functional sewage system along the coastlines, even our emblematic lakes remain under threat, especially in frequented tourist spots.
Bovilla: a precious resource in danger
Bovilla carries 50–80% of Tirana’s drinking water supply. In the field, the H2H team found turbidity above the limits of the source water, E. coli, coliforms and enterococci in several samples. The treatment plant filters the water before distribution, but the increased microbial load makes treatment difficult and increases operational risk, with one incident in the network enough to put safety at risk.
Around the lake, a weekend destination, picnics, off-road routes, the lack of buffer zones and basic infrastructure (bins, signage, access control) encourages a gradually normalized discharge of waste and runoff into the water. The recommendations are straightforward: green protective perimeter, auditing and sanctioning illegal connections, real-time monitoring, public reporting of data.
Erjon Kalaja, following the monitoring carried out, states that “The findings show a high level of turbidity and microbiological contamination, including the presence of E. coli. Although the treatment plant is functional and modern, the pollution load upstream remains a serious challenge. Without protective measures at the source, the chain is not completely safe.”
The water that supplies most of Tirana is increasingly turbid and has a high bacterial load, including high levels of fecal contamination. At the end of the day, Bovilla is a test of sincerity: do we treat drinking water as critical infrastructure? Or do we let it become part of an uncontrolled recreation, where a “little” pollution is accepted as the cost of fun?
Farka & Artificial Lake: rapid urbanization, slow waters
Farka is the clearest example of what happens when urbanization outpaces sanitation. Calcium, nitrates, and orthophosphates on the rise; E. coli, coliforms, enterococci, the picture of a pond that gets a daily boost from the use of chemical fertilizers, domestic runoff, and a sewage network that doesn't keep up. Farka is now neither safe for contact recreation nor for irrigation without special measures.
| Problematic point | Pollution type / Values | Sources of pollution | Risks and consequences |
| Roskovec–Hoxharë Canal (Eel Line) | • E. coli up to 121,400 nr/100 ml • Total Coliforms 14,000 nr/100 ml • Hydrocarbon oil 584 mg/l | Untreated urban discharges Impact from the oil industry | Damage to the aquatic ecosystem Risk of pollution spreading towards the Adriatic |
| The Artificial Lake of Tirana | • E. coli 3,900 nos/100 ml • Total Coliforms 11,000 nos/100 ml | Urban septic tanks, water used for irrigation, urban waste | Risk of infections from contact with water Deterioration of the recreational environment |
| Tafan Lake | • E. coli 30,000 nos/100 ml • Abnormal pH 0.9–3.8 | Agricultural and urban activity | Extreme fecal pollution Risk to farmer and consumer Chemical risk to soil and ecosystem |
| Hamallaj Dam (Adriatic) | • Nitrate 330 mg/l • High turbidity | Chemical fertilizers, urban wastewater, urbanization and tourism without management | Danger to beaches and the marine cycle Degradation of the tourist area |
| Lake Bovilla | • pH 10.4–10.7 • E. coli 2,850 nr/100 ml • High turbidity | Urban and agricultural runoff, recreational activity | Risk to Tirana's drinking water Higher treatment costs |
| Belsh Lake | • High E. coli • pH outside the norm | Agricultural and fishing activities Solid waste and polluting liquids | Risk to local food and ecosystem Degradation of the lake landscape |
Tirana's Artificial Lake is an urban laboratory: nutrients from the chemically maintained greenery, runoff from the waterside premises, high turbidity, dark color, fecal bacteria. The report even notes the use of lake water for irrigation in the square below the dam, a practice with a clear risk of spreading pollution. In both cases, it is not enough to "return to standards". A new management architecture is needed, from the tourist load index ("how many visitors can the lake hold without being damaged?") to the zoning of uses, from pesticide control to a whole body of sanctions that must function.
Hamallaj: where the land flows into the sea
In Hamallaj, where the land ends and the sea begins, the report Active Water II finds a story that goes beyond statistics. Microbiological samples appear within acceptable limits for E. coli and coliforms, but the presence of intestinal enterococci at the hydrovor discharge point indicates a more hidden pollution, leaks that are not seen, but that reach the beach. Nitrates, calcium, high turbidity: a mix that shows that everything that happens on land, from agricultural waste to raw sewage, ends up here, in the waters where we swim and where children play in the summer.
On the surrounding shores, new resorts are rising at the same pace as the dam’s waters flow out to sea. Rapid tourism and a lack of water management infrastructure create a clash between development and cleanup, two rhythms that never go hand in hand. For visitors, Hamallaj is a peaceful destination; for scientists, it is the point where the “crumbs” of pollution collected by inland rivers flow into the Adriatic.
Expert Erjon Kalaja further adds with concern that "the drainage water discharge channel in front of the Hamallaj Hydropower Plant was diverted, which means that the real potential pollution could be even greater than that monitored."
This coastal area is not just sand and sun, it is the last point in a long chain of pollution that starts from cities, passes through canals and ends in the sea.
Inland and northern lakes: water that nourishes, but also warns
From Tregan to Prespa, the report Active Water II reveals an Albania bound by the same danger: invisible pollution that travels through water. In Tregan, high phosphate concentrations and high turbidity, resulting from local spas and increased olive cultivation, render the water beyond any safe use for irrigation.
In Belsh and Tafan Lake, bacteria and unstable pH raise the alarm. Even in Funar, where the lake seems calm and clean, analysis reveals that boat traffic and surrounding runoff have loaded it with E. coli. This is a similar chain of pollution that continues north, in the Vau i Dejës reservoir, the first link in the Drini cascade.
There, samples show that fecal bacteria have become part of the water cycle that serves for energy and life. Without functional sewers and without treatment on the shorelines, which have recently become a magnet for “Bio” tourism, the reservoir risks becoming a pollution filter for the entire cascade. Restaurants, fishermen and tourists operate on its shores, an economic activity that, without environmental standards, is feeding the same problem that threatens it.
In Shkodra, appearances are deceptive: dissolved oxygen is high and turbidity is low, but E. coli, coliforms and enterococci indicate that human pollution remains strong, especially where tourism and lack of sanitation meet. Even after the construction of the plant in Shiroka, a plant for which the quality of its operation is also questioned, the lake requires joint management with Montenegro, protective zones and public education about the risk it carries.
Greater Prespa, with a shrinking surface area and waters that lose their level every year, maintains a physicochemical stability only on paper. Microbiologically, it is under direct influence from human activity, a consequence of the lack of sanitation and the withdrawal of water for agriculture.
Public health, the thinnest line and the passivity of public institutions
Numbers like E. coli, enterococci, coliforms are less “sexy” than drone photos and tourist videos on Instagram. But they translate into infections of the skin, eyes, gastrointestinal tract; at risk for children playing on the shores, for the elderly with fragile immunity, for workers who enter the water for fishing or maintenance. On the coast, an invisible wave of enterococci can translate into a deviation from the norm for beach standards. In agriculture, irrigation with contaminated water brings microbes closer to the table.
According to expert Kalaja, Albania needs to change the way it takes care of water. He states that "The pollution is not episodic, but systemic, and stems from gaps in monitoring, a clear lack of accountability and budgets, and institutional silence."
The National Environment Agency, which is legally required to monitor water quality, has neither the budget nor the instruments to do so fully. Meanwhile, institutions that benefit from water resources, from KESH to municipalities and UKT, rarely take on their due role in reporting pollution in their areas.
Kalaja concludes his opinion by emphasizing that a national monitoring system is needed, with open and understandable publication of data, where each water body has its own "file", who pollutes it, who uses it and who protects it. This requires three simple but irreplaceable steps: functioning plants, continuous monitoring and real penalties for polluters.
From Bovilla to Hamallaj, from Farka to Prespa, the panorama shows the failure of institutions more clearly than any report. Sewage flowing into lakes, plants that do not work, beaches that advertise cleanliness over polluted waters, this is the reality. Pollution does not come from a lack of knowledge, but from a lack of responsibility.
