Bulqiza, in addition to underground chrome wealth, is also surrounded by numerous water sources, but the city faces prolonged hours of drinking water shortage.
In 2013, the works started for the systemization of the drinking water supply network of the old neighborhood in Bulqiza, an investment which brought the water supply up to 12 hours. But very soon the water supply schedule was shortened. Today, no more than 7 hours a day are spent, this is due to the low-quality work that has been done on the network and illegal interventions.
But the situation is more problematic in Lagje e Re, where since 1985 when it was built as a residential block, there has never been any investment in the drinking water supply network. Sources of Citizens Channel indicate that currently nearly 70% of water is lost and only 30% goes to consumers.
Waterworks Sh. a Bulqizë, manages to collect nearly 50% of the water payment from family subscribers and 70-80% from the business, but that these revenues do not cover more than the salaries that go to its personnel, with nearly 40 employed people.
The residents of Bulqiza have protested several times about the lack of water, but their voice has not been taken into account. Asked by Citizens Channel, the residents accuse the water company, which is not able to manage the situation, as according to them it is unacceptable that there is no water in the city of Bulqiza, when Bulqiza has abundant water resources.
How safe is the water supplied to the residents of Bulqiza?
In order to have a good quality of water, safety must start from the act of taking drinking water. Citizens Channel was near the drinking water deposit in the "Çupe" neighborhood, from where a part of Bulqiza is supplied. The deposit was built in the center of this neighborhood and surrounded by apartments. But what does the law define for the safety of water extraction works?
According to law no. 111/2012, article 57 for areas of hygienic-sanitary protection, point b defines the criteria. The area of immediate protection, within which construction, development of industry, carrying out agricultural and livestock activities, opening of wells, opening of canals, depositing or discharging of pollution, polluted water, chemical and toxic substances, use of chemical fertilizers are prohibited. and pesticides, use as a cemetery or burial of dead animals.
In this particular case, from the tank that supplies water to a part of the city, such a law does not apply, as it is surrounded by fields, agricultural land and buildings, becoming a potential health hazard for residents.
According to the law in question, natural and legal persons whose interests are harmed by the definition of sanitary protection zones are compensated according to the provisions of the Civil Code of the Republic of Albania.
The Directorate of Public Health has the task of carrying out external monitoring, which includes the sanitary control of the facilities of the water supply works, the verification of the performance of internal monitoring and the analysis of the results of this monitoring, the control of sanitary protection zones, the control of the quality of drinking water in the water distribution network, etc.
In Lagje e Re, residents also tell Citizens Channel about the water pollution in 2015. According to them, the water came dirty, with a heavy smell, it could not be used for drinking or washing, because if it was used warm, it emitted a very heavy smell.
Water expert from EcoAlbania, Olsi Nika, asked by the Citizens Channel about the case in question, says: "There is no harm in the act of taking human activity. But there must be a water filtration plant underneath, which must be kept under very strict security conditions, according to the legal framework. Since if from such a work of taking water, where it is better to say water deposit, to the consumer, this is a very dangerous situation for the quality of the water and then the safety of the residents who consume the water from this act of taking", said Nika for Citizens Channel.
In his statement to Citizens Channel, the director of "Sh.A Ujësjellës Bulqizë", Nedion Muça, states that the institution he leads is financially unable to invest. Even the few investments that have been made in the network, have had support both from the business operating in Bulqiza and from their finances.
According to Muça, if we were faced with a situation where the existing network would not be allowed to supply the residents with water, this institution does not have a second alternative means of supplying the residents with water.
Also from Bulqiza Hospital, it is learned that at the beginning of February 2017 there was a wave of admissions, with signs of water poisoning. Another case of mass poisoning suspected to be from drinking water came from Ostreni i Madh village, where, according to police sources, nearly 55 wedding guests ended up in the hospital poisoned.
Is there a scheme of the distribution network and sewage and white water?
Citizens Channel has learned that "Waterworks Sh. a Bulqizë" does not have an accurate scheme of the drinking water distribution network in Bulqizë. This is also stated by the Director of Public Health in Bulqiza, Flamur Meta.
He declares that the institution he leads does not have a complete scheme of the drinking water distribution network in Bulqiza. Also, another point is the most problematic areas in terms of pollution, where the sewage network scheme is also missing.
How to deal with administrative units?
Faced with such a situation, the Water Company in Bulqiza has "raised its hands". With the territorial reform, since the beginning of 2016, the water supply systems of the villages should have been taken into management, where apart from the Shupenzë administrative unit, such a thing has not happened yet. The situation in the villages is difficult, where the majority of the residents have invested themselves in laying the pipeline that supplies them with water. According to the director of "Ujjesjella Sh.A Bulqizë" it is known that at the beginning of 2018, the water pipes of the administrative units can also be taken over.
Citizens Channel was in Zerqan administrative unit of Bulqiza municipality, to see the distribution network. The sights are terrifying, as in most of the water pipes in the villages of Bulqiza, where you can easily enter the drinking water distribution tanks, which have been left to the mercy of fate for years, without even the slightest investment and outside of any hygiene rule. Even the Directorate of Public Health in Bulqiza does not measure water quality in villages, but only in the city. According to the director of DSHP Bulqizë, Flamur Meta, the analyzes are only done for businesses or in those cases where there is an indication of water quality.
The residents of Zerqani, asked by Citizens Channel, declare that they have gone to the point of conflicts with each other for drinking water, as they intervene in the distribution pipeline. The latter declare that they have been totally forgotten by the local government and that even for the slightest damage to the distribution network, they are forced to invest on their own.
Author: Sami Curri
