*Erisa Kryeziu / Citizens Channel
"I turn on the water for the palace at 19:00 or 20:00. Then as long as the water lasts. It was quickly consumed by the residents, there is no more water, until the next day when the boat comes again for supply"- said Shpëtimi, one of the administrators of the palace in the Astir area, when asked by the Citizens Channel about the lack of water in Tirana.
Embarrassed by our interest in the water schedules, he apologetically shows that it is not his fault for this state of affairs, as all the residents turn to him for solutions. "They ask me when the water will come, why there is no water, we can't live here anymore, we can't bathe in this heat. But my job is just to fill the deposit when the book comes.”
In response to the request for information from Citizens Channel, UKT stated that there is no water shortage, but partial restrictions localized in only a few facilities.
"We cannot really talk about a lack of water, but about partial restrictions in localized objects which are positioned in the networks that are supplied through pumping stations, more precisely some buildings located in Yzberisht and Astir"– was UKT's response to the request for information.
From the contacts that Citizens Channel made with residents of different areas in Tirana, it was noticed that it is not only the area of Astir or Yzberishti that suffers from the lack of water, but also other areas have this problem.
"It was 16:30pm when I got home from work and I was left in the shower after the water ran out. Since that day, I have been visiting my relatives for about a week. No one has announced about water restrictions", - tells Citizens Channel, Mikeli, who lives in the Ali Demi area.
Meanwhile, UKT in its response adds, among other things, that: "UKT has identified those buildings that have water supply problems by constantly being in contact, 24 hours a day, with their administrators, offering the best solutions so that residents feel as little as possible the effects of the supply problem for the building. theirs".
Shpetimi, the administrator of the palace in Astir, emphasizes that the water supply comes from UKT, but it is not enough for the high number of the population. He emphasizes that boats coming from UKT bring water ranging from 6 liters to 12 liters.
"The summer period is a big problem. The water bots arrive in the afternoon, around 17:00 and have a size of 6, 8 or 12 liters, depending on the bot. With one bot I supply 4 levels of buildings. They tell us that it will be fixed. I was just told by UKT that the connection will be made directly from Bovilla on Thursday, the last Thursday of August."
The schedule of water supply to buildings is different depending on the schedule that the administrator chooses to distribute it. Kleanti, who lives in the Yzberisht area, says that there has been two weeks without water, and that the lives of the residents of that area are already programmed depending on the water schedule.
"The times we have water are: 6:00-8:00, 12:00-13:30, and 19:00-20:30. We have to coordinate the time so that we are at home at the time when there is water to clean the house or take a shower. The administrator says that there is no water because there is a drought and that the Municipality has a lot of flow and cannot cope with everyone in the world".
The same situation occurs in the Myslim Shyri area. Endri tells Citizens Channel that the water went away in a few hours. "We don't know when the water runs out, there is no set schedule. One day there is no water in the morning, another day there is no water in the afternoon. it depends "- he explains further.
Even in the Block area, the summer of 2019 brought a lack of water. Alice Taylor, asked by the Citizens Channel, says that she can only use the washing machine and shower her child between 7.30:8.30-12:00, 13:00-18:30 and 20:00-XNUMX:XNUMX, as only in these times is there water supply.
"During these times we have very little water and sometimes none at all. During the night we have no water at all, and often there is no water even to flush the toilet. This lack of water affects 3 blocks of buildings, each block with 10 apartments, so around at least 30 apartments. My friends in Sami Frashëri street, in Ali Dem, Laprakë and Myslym Shyri also had a lack of water. "
Alice says that no one gives them an explanation for the situation and that taking care of the house and children in the absence of water creates difficulties during the summer.
"We have had no notification and no answer to our questions. We buy water cans and also fill them with water to use for the toilet. I have to shower, wash the baby and clothes only when there is water. It's hard when you have to cook, wash and clean as well as take care of yourself and two children."
Higher payment for less water
From January 1, 2018, the price of water in Tirana increased by 40%. From 45 ALL to 65 ALL per cubic meter for households, while for businesses the increase was from 135 ALL to 190 ALL per cubic meter. The increase in the price of water, according to the statements of the Municipality of Tirana, was due to the investments that the Municipality was making in the network.
"I remind you that it seems as if 4 years were 400 years ago, but we got Tirana with 7 hours of water a day, we have it with 14 hours and we want it, as we promised, from January 1 when we started these major investments after the EBRD entrusted us with the loan of water, by the end of the next mandate we will have gone from 14 to 24 hours of water and we will all feel proud that we were part of a vital transformation for Tirana", said the Mayor of Tirana, in one of his interviews.
Plan 5 years old of the Municipality, approved in 2017 on the estimated value of the monthly bill for water predicts that in 2020 there will be an increase compared to 2019. Accordingly, for a family with one person the value of the bill in 2020 will reach 771 ALL , together with the VAT, while in 2019, 598 ALL was foreseen. For families with two people, 1183 ALL, while in 2019, 955 ALL was foreseen. For a family with 3 people, 1,594 ALL, compared to 1,313 ALL in 2019. For the average family with four people, in 2020, the value is predicted to be 2006 ALL, compared to 1670 ALL expected in 2019.
In the 5-year strategy of the Municipality, it is stated that it is intended to achieve within 2021 uninterrupted service with continuous water supply pressure 24 hours, thus avoiding deposits in families and in residential buildings, to ensure sufficient water supply during the day and at night.
UKT told Citizens Channel that: “Two of the investments, which are major works in fact, which are being carried out for the first time by UKT, are; the expansion of the water processing plant "Bovillë" with 30% more capacity as well as the construction of a supply transmission line from the Bovillë plant to the Yzberishti depot, investments that provide a final solution to the problem of areas such as Yzberishti, Astiri, Kombinati, Kodër Kamza or Kashar."
In a post on Facebook, in January 2019, UKT states that with this plant it is intended to start a new era of water supply in the summer months, but the summer of 2019 passed again without drinking water for the citizens of this area of Tirana.
The supply of water through deposits in the city of Tirana brings another problem, that of non-respect of water quality. Citizens Channel observed some of these deposits in the Yzberishti area and noticed that the water coming from the network is extremely polluted, creating a layer of dirt and lime on the surface. Despite the fact that in the invoices this water is qualified and paid for with the price of drinking water, residents show that they do not even use it to wash dishes.
"We've been living here for two years, I've changed the heating element twice because it creates a layer of lime and doesn't heat up, I bought a new washing machine, but now I'm ready to throw it away because it's filled with dirt from the water", says Arbeni. resident in the building where the footage of the deposit was taken.
