Biologists bluff the Environment Agency, sewage polluted the Artificial Lake

The thick layer of algae on a large part of the surface of Tirana's artificial lake is visible to the naked eye, while laboratory analyzes made by biologists of the University of Tirana say that what is seen with the naked eye is actually pollution of caused by the discharge of untreated urban wastewater into the lake.

Despite this, the National Environment Agency says that the analyzes carried out by it "do not reveal any problems".

"The analyzes that we did a few days ago did not show any signs of pollution" - said to BIRN on Wednesday the director of KTA, Arta Dollani, adding that "we are in the process of verification". However, Dollani did not respond to BIRN's request for a copy of the test results.

Unlike Dollani, biologist Aleko Miho from the University of Tirana says that the results of the analyzes carried out by KMA are contradictory and that their reliability is "disputable".

"From the two groups of analyzes carried out by KTA, all indicators are comparable between them, while for phosphorus there is a difference of 10x, and it is difficult to correctly judge the situation if both analyzes have this difference. This makes the reliability of this data questionable for a relatively small basin like this lake," says Miho's answer to the Parks and Recreation Agency, a municipal office that formally administers the lake as well.

The municipality of Tirana is understood to have been put into motion after the alarm given by Miho in a Facebook status on October 16, in which he said that laboratory analyzes carried out by Shpëtim Vata, a doctoral student, showed high contamination with cyanobacteria, which are created by the discharge of used and untreated urban water.

The discharge of sewage into the lake that forms the heart of the capital's only large park is actually a phenomenon that can be seen with the naked eye and that citizens who walk in this park feel in their noses regularly, especially on the south side. eastern, in which many palaces and villas have been built during the last decade, within the lake's catchment area. At least two water streams that should normally drain clean rainwater into the lake are visibly filled with sewage.

This situation, however, according to the National Environment Agency, does not turn out to be pollution, although the verifications continue.

According to biologists, "microcystis blooms often form during warm, calm weather in lakes and ponds with relatively high nutrient concentrations (nitrogen or phosphorus) or low nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratios."

However, KTA analyzes in one case indicate a high concentration of "phosphorus" and in another case a low concentration.

In the two groups of analyzes carried out by KTA, all indicators are comparable, while for phosphorus there is a difference of 10 times.

"According to the measurement at the Lake Dam, the value of P-PO4 is 0.055 mg/L, which means that the waters are very eutrophic; whereas according to the measurement at Moli HD, which is at the lake dam, maybe a few tens of meters away, the value of P-PO4 is 0.0055 mg/L, which means that the waters are deeply oligotrophic" - refers to the report on these analyses.

According to Professor Mihos, the first situation is more reliable, as it is proved by the blooming algae everywhere in the Lake. "Whereas the second value, in my opinion, must be wrong, perhaps a 'slip' by KTA, since as such the Tirana Watershed has hardly ever had an oligotrophic state, not only in this case, but throughout its lifetime of creation for over 60 years, due to the location, the climate of the area and the pressure of man around his pond" - he adds.

"This makes the reliability of this data questionable for a relatively small basin like this Lake" - concludes the report signed by Professor Miho.

When asked by BIRN, Miho described the data of KTA's analyzes as contradictory, while adding that the level of phosphorus is the main cause of the state of a lake and that algae is not a cause, but a consequence.

However, he adds that the raised concern is not intended to create panic among citizens, but to make the authorities responsible for the quality of water in the country aware, not only in the artificial lake, but in the river of Lana, Ishmi, etc...

Taulant Bino, head of the Association of Albanian Ornithologists (AOS), also wants a response from the institutions for the case and for a functional administration of the waters.

"The Great Park of the Artificial Lake of Tirana is under the administration of the Parks and Recreation Agency, but considering the human capacities as well as the functional duties of this institution, it is impossible to investigate the source of the pollution" - he told BIRN, suggested the adoption of an action plan for bioversity by the Municipality of Tirana.

According to Bino, an urgent cooperation with scientific researchers and the relevant water quality inspectorates is needed to understand the origin of the pollution and to control or eliminate it.

Albania is the last country on the European continent that pours used water directly into lakes or rivers, without first treating it to prevent pollution. A major project aimed at building a sewage treatment system for the capital area has remained unrealized with works already blocked for at least six years. The Government and the Municipality of Tirana have not given public explanations as to why the investment in question has not been realized. Reporter.al