Author: Angela Ruci
Continuous promises and investments in millions of euros for plants have not yet provided a solution to the "gangrene" problem of sea pollution from sewage. Environmental experts criticize municipalities for lack of priority with serious consequences for the ecosystem and tourism.
The Promenade of the city of Vlora, popularly known as Lungomare, is the flagship and most expensive project of the Urban Renaissance, but along its 4 kilometers, we documented at the beginning of May at least three points of discharge of sewage into the sea.
Similar channels of polluted water are a widespread sight on the coastline of Albania, despite promises over the years and legislation in force, which strictly prohibits their discharge into the sea.
The data obtained through the Right to Information law from 7 coastal municipalities of the country show that investments in tens of millions of euros have not yet solved the "gangrene" problem of sewage canals along the Albanian beaches.
From field observations, we photographed a dozen pollution hotspots on the popular beaches of Durrës, Vlora and Orikum.
During the last decade, in the municipalities of Vlora, Lezha, Himara, Saranda, Durrës and Shkodra, about 44.6 million euros have been invested together in the construction of wastewater treatment plants, but these investments cover only a part of the coastline, exposed the rest to pollution.
The discharge of sewage into the sea has been blamed for years for damaging the aquatic ecosystem, tourism and the health of the population. Environmental experts and activists are concerned about the consequences, while criticizing the country's municipalities for not prioritizing the final solution to the problem.
"A lot has been invested in the coastal cities, but in reality it is still not seen that all this great investment is reflected. Often the plants do not cover the entire sea space. The local government has not seen water management as a priority and the consequences are great, as they affect both health and tourism", said Xhemal Mato, one of the veteran environmental experts in Albania.
Insufficient investment
The discharge of waste water into the sea is specifically prohibited in the law "On integrated management of water resources", specifically Article 67, but the implementation of the legislation continues to be ignored. Repeated promises by mayors have also failed to guarantee a clean sea.
There are two wastewater treatment plants in the Vlora region; the first built in 2015 in Orikum worth about 530 million ALL and the second built in 2019 through an investment of 4.2 million euros from the IPA funds of the European Union.
Although the Vlora plant is designed to meet the needs of 90 inhabitants in the winter and 160 inhabitants in the summer season, the municipality admits that there is currently still waste water spilling into the sea - which it says will be solved with a new investment in process.
"For this reason, the project was made to improve the infrastructure of waste water in the coastal area, with the aim of a clean sea.", - said the Municipality of Vlora, while adding that the project was being implemented by the company The Hysaj brothers. The new plant is expected to cost taxpayers another 3.3 million euros.
A few kilometers south of Lungomare, in the crystalline sea of Orikum, a channel of polluted water flows just a few meters away from the treatment plant.
The beach is used not only by vacationers during the summer season, but also by local fishermen.
A similar situation prevails in the Municipality of Durrës, despite significant investments in the infrastructure of wastewater treatment. The first plant in Durrës was built in 2013 with financing from the World Bank and the European Investment Bank in the amount of 11 million euros, where the city's wastewater is treated, as well as from the area of the Beach and the Rock of Kavaja.
However, the Water-Sewage Company admits that despite the plant, there is a discharge of waste water in the area of the former Swamp, as the sewerage network has not yet been built.
The second plant built in 2019 cost 1.31 billion lek and is located in Hamallaj village. The purpose of this plant is to collect and clean the polluted waters of the tourist area in the Bay of Lalëz and the villages of the administrative unit Išem, which are Likmetaj, Kërtushaj, Kapidanaj, Gjuricaj, Lalëz, Kuraten, Bize, Drac, Shetaj.
One of the most problematic areas of Durrës continues to be the promenade Taulantia, the main hub of the city during the tourist season. The Water-Sewage Company in Durrës calls the discharge pipe on the promenade Taulantia "a small spill of sewage into the sea", which according to her happens after the rain.
The documented images were taken in a period of time when there was no rain and the weather was dry, a fact that refutes the UKD's claim.
Once this area was the main destination of the residents of Durrës, but also of vacationers from other countries. The discharge of sewage and other sources of pollution have led to the abandonment of the beach by vacationers.
The municipality of Himarë, which also covers the most frequented tourist villages of the Albanian Riviera: Qeparo, Borsh, Lukovë, Dhërmi and Palasë, has only one wastewater treatment plant, located in the area of Dhrala.
In response to a request for the right to information, the Himarë municipality said that it needs five more plants to treat the polluted water and stop its discharge to the sea.
The municipality of Lezha says that after the construction of the plant worth 3.1 million euros in 2014, "not a single drop of polluted water" is poured into the sea.
The municipality of Divjaka does not yet have a plant and treats urban wastewater in septic tanks. The municipality of Shkodër has two plants with an investment value of 18,7 million euros. These plants built in the area of Velipoja and Shiroka, according to Water-Sewage Shkodër, cover all the needs for the treatment of polluted water in the area, both in the winter months and during the summer months.
The municipality of Saranda, often criticized in the past for dumping waste water into the sea, claims that the plant built in 2013 worth 2.3 million euros is sufficient for the city's needs.
"From the findings of the company, there are no data on spills or hotspots of the source of infection as a result of uncontrolled wastewater discharges, as recent investments have eliminated all uncontrolled discharges," said a spokesperson of the Municipality of Saranda.
Multiple damages
Environmental experts are sounding the alarm bells that the spilling of raw water on the coasts and beaches can bring irreparable damage to the underwater flora and fauna, but also to the vacationers who frequent these waters.
The environmental expert, Olsi Nika, says that the discharge of polluted water into aquatic environments destroys almost all the links of the food chain, causing great and irreparable damage to the creatures of the underwater world.
"The impact of used waters on natural water environments or ecosystems is related to the rate of growth of trophic or nutrient substances in the water. Increasing this rate makes it impossible for the fauna in the water to live normally and to maintain normal ecological balances, and this causes what we call the mass death of fish. Practically, slowly the environment, from divers with all the links of the food chain or trophic flows, gradually transforms into a more bacterial and decomposing environment and this is actually a process that we call "process of eutrophicationNika said.
Claudio Hyseni, head of the center Durresi Active and author of several articles on the problem of polluted water, thinks that in addition to the underwater fauna, this phenomenon also damages the health of vacationers.
"I live in this neighborhood (promenade Taulantia) and I have seen the degradation of the area. Here there is a risk that people will be infected by infectious and epidemiological diseases. Water in this area becomes a source of infection for citizens. We have verified through the health centers that have
those who bathed in these waters had problems with vision, hearing and skin infections", said Hyseni.
Although the responsibility for the discharge of polluted waters into the sea lies with the local government, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment must follow the implementation of the laws, which aim to protect and improve the environment throughout the country.
However, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment chose not to answer what measures this institution has taken to control the discharge of polluted waters on the coasts and beaches of the country.
This article is published within the project "Facts and Environment" implemented by the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism and the Organization "Faktoje", within the project "Toward the Improvement of Labor Relations and Professionalism in the Albanian Media" supported by the European Union, implemented by the Institute Albanian Media and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). The sole responsibility for the content of this article lies with the author and under no circumstances can it be considered to reflect the position of the European Union.
