SPRING FROM WHICH THE COAST IS SUPPLIED ENDANGERED BY REMOVAL OF GRAVEL FROM THE RIVER MORACA: BOLJE SESTRE ON ITS LAST LEGS

An 80 percent drop in water source yields could have a direct impact on tourism. The regional water supply, which cost 107 million euros, in addition to climate change, is in danger due to the extraction of a huge amount of gravel and the deepening of the riverbed, experts claim.

The yield of the water spring Bolje sestre, which supplies water to six coastal municipalities for a decade and a half, has been reduced by more than 80 percent, from 2,660 liters per second in 2005 to a historical minimum of only 334 liters per second at the beginning of September last year. This is significantly below the projected water supply capacity of 1,100 liters and represents a serious threat to cause water shortage to the coast during the tourist season.

Due to the drastic drop in yield, the director of the Water Administration, Damir Gutic has suspended work on the regulation of the river Moraca, until the reasons for the shortage of piped water in households on the coast are determined.

The decision was made after years of warnings from the state-owned company Regional Water Supply System, based on expert analysis, that the spring was threatened by the extraction of huge amounts of sand and gravel from the riverbed and coastal area.

According to the data obtained by the Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG), more than one hundred thousand cubic meters of gravel were extracted, through concession works of flow regulations, from the bed of the lower course of the Moraca into Skadar Lake. The concessions were granted to the company “Bemax“ to which the decision on suspension of works from December refers. These concessions were previously granted to “Cijevna Komerc“ and “Beton gradnja''.

Huge quantities of material from the riverbed and the agricultural land on the bank were also extracted by illegal exploiters, whom the inspections generally fail to locate.

The riverbed is deepened considerably below 10.5 meters above the sea level, which is considered the lowest allowed elevation, below which, according to the Regional Water Supply System, the impact on the movement of water leaves consequences on the springs.

The Regional Water Supply System, in which 107 million euros were invested, was put into operation in 2010 when Budva, Kotor, and Tivat were connected to it. A year later, Bar was connected and in 2012, Ulcinj. Since 2013, through the water supply system of Tivat, Herceg Novi received 40-50 liters per second for a part of the municipality, and last year works on the complete connection to the regional water supply have begun.

A long-standing issue of water shortage in coastal cities during the tourist season such as Budva and lasting restrictions in Herceg Novi, which was partly supplied from Croatia, have been regulated by the regional water supply system.

The consumption of 750 liters per second for several days during the peak season was recorded from this water supply system.

If we take into account a year when the water supply of the spring Bolje sestre was at its ten-year minimum (which was the case in 2020) and a year with a record water supply (at the level of 2019), the challenge of orderly supply of consumers on the Montenegrin coast would be realistic, " Goran Jevric, the director of Regional Water Supply Company (RWSC), told CIN-CG.

According to official data, Montenegro has recorded the best tourist season in history in 2019, with more than 2.6 million tourists, more than 14.5 million overnight stays, and 1.1 billion euros in revenue. More than nine million cubic meters of water were delivered to coastal municipalities that year – somewhere near 5.7 million cubic meters from June to September alone.

However, Jevric rejects the worst-case scenario, according to which the delivery of technical water to coastal cities is the only option. RWSC has contracts with the local water supply systems on the minimum quantity that it has to deliver, and they are additionally supplied from local sources, he says.

The measured yield, as explained in the RWSC, represents the flow values ​​at the overflow, and it is possible to capture larger quantities.

"In the period when, for example, the flow at the overflow was only 334 l / s (September 5, 2020), there was a continuous supply of water to municipalities on the Montenegrin coast of 680 l / s (by lowering the water level in the water intake, it is possible to capture the even higher amount of water than the stated 680 l / s)“ RWSC stated.

The representative of the Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology Golub Culafic, who analyzed this problem for the needs of RWSC in 2016 and 2018, warned a few years ago about the negative trends of declining yields. According to him, it is necessary to take actions to protect springs, but also "to find a possible additional source as an alternative for the summer months, when consumption is at its peak and recharge in the basin is minimal."

Culafic also pointed out the consequences of climate change, stating that the recharge of karst (limestone) springs, such as Bolje sestre, directly depends on the amount of precipitation, and that projections say that temperatures will rise and precipitation will be less and less. He also emphasized the consequences of the illegal exploitation of sand and gravel on this water source, which has been on the UNESCO map of the 150 most important karst sources since 2017.

"Special attention should be paid to the institutional ban on the exploitation of sand and gravel from the mentioned zone, as well as to provide guidelines for arranging the existing exploitation pits, to prevent artificial alteration of the Moraca in this part, and the possible opening of new sinkholes in limestone.", Culafic concluded.

Warnings from RWSC on endangering springs, according to the documents CIN-CG had access to, were submitted to the previous Government in reports on the work and plans of the company, which were regularly adopted.

Taking into account the drastic drop in the yield of Bolje sestre spring of about 30 percent in 2020 alone, the regularity of water supply during the 2021 tourist season cannot be guaranteed with certainty.", the President of the Board of Directors of RWSC, Budimir Saranovic, warned former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture Milutin Simovic, in September last year.

At the session of the Board of Directors held on September 29 last year, the director of the Institute of Hydrometeorology and Seismology, Luka Mitrovic, stated that illegal exploitation around the spring mostly affects the decline in yield, and that, in addition, the displacement of the Moraca riverbed is another cause of such situation.

Dozens of reports submitted by the RWSC to the Sector for Water Management Inspection - Directorate for Inspection Affairs (DIA), in recent years, due to the exploitation of gravel, were mostly without major results. The employees who have been reporting them also faced threats while recording the actual situation on the ground, they say in this company.

CIN-CG had insight into more than 20 RWSC requests for inspections, addressed to the DIA from 2016 to the end of last year.

For example, in a request dated July 25, 2017, Jevric states that "illegal exploitation seems to be 'gaining momentum' again, regardless of the moratorium."

“In the previous days, construction machinery was noticed at the Mahala locality. Therefore, we forward to you the photographs from the spot with the request for inspection control… ”.

In July 2019, the Board of Directors of RWSC stated that the best evidence of this organized activity is the fact that all machinery is being removed by the arrival of the competent authorities on the spot, and in the late afternoon and evening exploitation continues, as well as during rainy days and holidays, when the activities of inspection bodies are not expected.

“These activities directly affect the Moraca riverbed and legally defined elevations, which should not be lower than 10.5 meters above sea level, while field data indicate that the actual elevations are significantly lower, which indicates a high degree of endangerment of the Bolje sestre spring,“ it is stated in the minutes from the meeting of the Board of Directors on July 31, 2019. Other documents state that the elevations of the bottom of the river are lower from two to four meters.

From the Water Administration, they told CIN-CG that it can be said that illegal exploitation from the Moraca riverbed has been significantly lowered and reduced to a minimum. However, the problem of extracting materials from agricultural and non-agricultural land outside the river remains, somewhere even on a kilometer from the river.

Since 2016, according to the DIA, the Water Management Inspection has issued several misdemeanor warrants and filed multiple misdemeanor charges against perpetrators. They point out that one criminal complaint was filed against unidentified persons.

In one of the reports, which was submitted by the water inspector to RWSC on October 5, 2018, it is pointed out that during the inspection in the place called Botun, a yellow-blue ''Gisslens" loader (backhoe) without registration marks and a yellow-blue cargo motor vehicle,  brand FAP, without registration marks and mounted sieve, were found. At the moment of the inspection, sand from the Moraca riverbed was being sifted.

“Person S.A. was found on the spot, according to whose statement he is the very owner of the machinery. During the on-site inspection, it was determined that it was illegal exploitation of gravel and sand ", it is stated in the report. Against S.A. a request for misdemeanor proceedings was filed, and the machinery was removed in the presence of an inspector.

The DIA, however, points out that a large number of RWSC initiatives were related to the mechanization of contractors, who had signed contracts with the Water Administration on works on the regulation of Moraca, which is performed by "Bemax".

RWSC Technical Director Ivan Spadijer, at a group meeting with WA representatives on the protection of the Bolje sestre water source a year and a half ago, said that it was not just about climate changes, and "this is supported by the fact that this problem has not been recorded in other springs in Montenegro". Spadijer also said that they had been protesting since 2014 because of the works on the regulation of the Moraca River because even then they thought that those works could have a negative impact.

Several members of the Board of Directors of RWSC, at several sessions in 2017, whose records CIN-CG had access to, expressed doubts about the correctness of the river regulation project and pointed out that during the earlier implementation of regulation, the groundwater level lowered about two meters.

A round table on the water source was held in January 2019, which was attended by the directors of RWSC and WA. One of the conclusions of the experts was that the works on the regulation of the river Moraca must be stopped until the moment when it is finally determined whether the exploitation of materials from the riverbed - legal or illegal - affects the yield of the spring.

At the meeting with representatives of RWSC in September of the same year, the director of WA said that if "the main problem of the functioning of RWSC and the yield of the spring Bolje sestre depends on the regulation project, then the problem is easily solved."

However, he decided to temporarily suspend the regulation work a year and three months later, which was preceded by exchanges of accusations with representatives of the RWSC on responsibility for the situation.

To the dissatisfaction with the cooperation with WA, about which Jevric and Saranovic informed Milutin Simovic in October last year, Gutic responded by assessing that RWSC did not deal with the causes, but only with the consequences of the reduction in yield. He described it as "an attempt to divert attention from its (RWSC) obligations to other institutions" as frivolous.

Executive director of the NGO “Green Home“ Natasa Kovacevic told CIN-CG that WA did not research the capacity and quality of water from the Bolje sestre spring, nor it had determined the specific impact of the regulation of the Moraca, or the illegal exploitation of gravel and sand from the riverbed, as well as from agricultural land.

She pointed out that the picture of the devastated lower course of the Moraca in the second and third protection zones of the water source can hardly be subsumed in the major part under the climatic influence.

"But it is understandable that for those who earn money at the expense of gravel exploitation and on the other side at the expense of water exploitation, such a justification can suit" ... The regulations are violated by both the concessionaires and the competent institutions, noticeably in front of the lay and professional public, achieving incomes, while neglecting the aspects of water safety and water protection, as well as the environment," Kovacevic said.

Gutic's decision stopped the works on the project of regulating the Moraca on section three, from the mouth of the river Sitnica to Ponari, which was performed by “Bemax“ and supervised by the “System-MNE“ of Podgorica.

"The reason for the temporary suspension of regulation is precisely the possible threat to the water supply of the Montenegrin coast, although the impact of watercourses and regulatory works on the abundance of water sources has not been proven by not classifying the third zone of sanitary protection,” he told CIN-CG.

Gutic said that the situation on the Moraca is further aggravated by the exploitation of materials from land that is treated as agricultural.

"Events that are not completely under control lead to the fact that the execution of the project is not happening at the dynamics we would like, but there were no deviations from the project solution," he said.

“Bemax“ told CIN-CG that from 2015 to 2019, they paid 156,780 euros to the Water Administration and that they paid 2.5-3.0 euros for a cubic meter of extracted material. That means that they extracted at least 52 thousand cubic meters from the riverbed. When asked if they had any reports and warnings concerning the deepening of the riverbed, they said that there were “no objections to the work“.

WA previously had agreements on the regulation of other sections of the river with “Cijevna Komerc“ and “Beton Montenegro“. The amount of the fee for the purchase of surplus materials, as the Administration previously stated for CIN-CG, was 2.75 euros per cubic meter for Cijevna, and 2.76 euros for Beton Montenegro.

The company "Cijevna Komerc" has signed a contract on the regulation of the Moraca riverbed on a section of 3,267 meters, downstream from the Vukovacki Bridge and 70% of the works have been completed.

''They were stopped in 2018 due to the inconsistency of the new project documentation with the actual situation on the ground, and the second part disputed the execution due to unresolved property-legal relations,” the company “Cijevna Komerc“ told CIN-CG. They claim that they were extracting raw material for further processing through regulation and that they paid 187,606 euros.

"Accordingly, the amount of extracted material is approximately 68,000 cubic meters," it is stated in response to a question from CIN-CG.

Company "Beton Montenegro" did not answer CIN-CG's questions.

General Director of Directorate for Water Management, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Momcilo Blagojevic, agreed that climate change cannot be the cause of a large drop in springs, but said that "concrete impacts must be professionally proven."

"... which has had to be done so far by the source administrator, taking into account the linear decline in the yield of the source from 2005 until today, which has been measured and validated by the Institute," Blagojevic stated. According to Blagojevic, the allegations in the "Vision of development 2030" of RWSC that the impact of the temperature change led to a decrease in the yield of the spring are not relevant, because "... the annual precipitation trend has remained almost unchanged."

At the beginning of this year, two projects have begun, one financed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which will try to determine the causes on a scientific basis, but also to propose measures to protect springs and increase capacity. The finding is expected by the beginning of June.

Culafic: The locals had to deepen the wells

“We assume that one of the influences on the reduction of the yield regime of the Bolje sestre water source is anthropogenic, i.e. man by his doing. This primarily refers, in this case, to the extraction of gravel and sand (‘regulation’) from the Moraca in the Grbavci zone, which may have led to accelerated water movement (declining levels and/or width of the flow) and reduced recharge of coastal alluvial aquifer, with which the source is probably partly connected“,  Golub Culafic told CIN-CG, referring to the results of the latest analysis also, which was recently completed by an international team of experts, of which he was a member.

The analysis states that it is necessary to take measures and activities to adapt to modern climate processes, but also the impact of human activities.

If the clay layer, which was a return barrier for karst water aquifers, was removed by the deepening of the Moraca riverbed, theoretically it could have intersected the underground streams and enabled the outflow of karst waters along the Moraca riverbed, and further reduced the yield of the spring. The smallest depth to the karst aquifer is in the areas where Moraca approaches the limestone rim of the plain, and this is the case in three places: downstream from village Lekici, downstream from Grbavci (slopes of the hill Jez), and upstream from Gornji Vukovici (slopes of the hill Orlovina). At all three locations, the flow was being regulated, or the gravel was being exploited, " Culafic said.

As he said, the residents of the village of Grbavci, who had to deepen the wells on their properties, also testify that the level of groundwater in this area has decreased.

As possible causes of fluctuations and declining yields, especially in the summer months, Culafic also included the use of groundwater from the Zeta plain, pointing out that the largest user is the winery "Plantaze" for irrigation of their agricultural areas. Part of Podgorica is supplied with water from Cemovsko polje and the number of rural households that use groundwater for irrigation is growing.

From the company "Plantaze", which consumes two million cubic meters of water from 24 pumping wells, from a depth of 50 to 90 meters for irrigation of 2,300 hectares of vineyards and orchards, and regarding earlier similar claims from RWSC, they told CIN-CG that they do not produce consequences, because every liter extracted is returned to the ground.

Pointing out that the explanations from the new analysis are based on numerous assumptions, Culafic estimates that hydrogeological and hydrological research is necessary, which will be conducted in the next period in the narrower and wider zone of the water source.

A factory is also planned

The Regional Water Supply System Company also plans to build a water factory, and director Goran Jevric claims that the drop in yield will not jeopardize the project.

"The production capacity of the planned factory of bottled water at the Bolje sestre spring is 1-5 liters per second, so this project cannot be endangered by the decline in the yield of the spring," he told CIN-CG.

Regarding the project of building a factory for bottling water and producing beer and cold teas, the RWSC document "Vision of Development 2030" states that the preconditions for its implementation are "realistic, while it is necessary to complete the procedure in the Parliament of Montenegro, which should adopt planning assumptions for the area of ​​Skadar Lake so that the RWSSC would be able to obtain urban and technical conditions for the start of construction of the water factory ".

The regional water supply system has prepared a conceptual project, as well as a study on the environmental impact assessment, which, as the RWSSC claims, created the preconditions for a potential investor to start an investment of several million euros.

Miloš RUDOVIĆ