06 August 2019 - Are the rivers in Montenegro polluted? Recently conducted research by the Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology of Montenegro shows that rivers Morača and Bojana mostly have a 'moderate status', which means that the chemical status in these rivers is not good.
Tara also has a moderate status in terms of water quality, while the water in Ćehotina is of low quality, the research shows. The cleanest river in the country is Cijevna, but the fact that the latest research did not include Piva, which had the highest quality water so far, should be taken into consideration when concluding.
A new water testing methodology, which was implemented by the Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology this year, classifies rivers’ status as “very good, good, moderate, bad or very bad”. "This new water testing methodology includes the determination of the chemical and ecological status of the waters of each river. The interpretation determines the category of the river, according to the status, which can be very good, good, moderate, bad or very bad," said Water Quality Department Chief of the Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology, NevenkaTomić in an interview for RTCG.
Research showed that, as in previous years, Ćehotina has a low-quality status (bad water quality), but also that river Tara is no longer clean as it used to be.
"River Tara has certain turbidity that causes the tested parameters to step out of their “ideal” range. This turbidity is probably influenced not only by the construction of the highway, but also by the flow of the Kolašin River, which during the spring and now when tunnel construction is underway causes washing of soil and materials, especially in the rainy season.“ Tomić said.
There are several causes of such a state of the rivers in Montenegro. "The main reason, as always, is wastewater. All of our cities do not have treatment plants, as in the case of Podgorica, which means we have various other discharges, landfills, rinses, in some situations oil or fuel spills, and also there are road constructions that affect the state of the rivers," Tomić warns.
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