River Pollution in Kosovo
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River Pollution in Kosovo Group Members: Visar Xhambazi, Valon Hasanaj, Samet Maloku, Ermira Birinxhiku, Vjendita Hoxha Atlant Rexhaj, Lyra Himaduma River Pollution in Kosovo Avdullahi, S., Fejza.I., Tmava, A., (4 Novemeber, 2011) Protecting Water Resources from Pollution in the Lake Batllava, Retrieved: 9 October, 2012, from http://elearning.just.edu.jo/jjce/issues/paper.php?p=2415.pdf In recent years, the international community has witnessed incidence of climate variability and human activities. The objective of this paper is protecting water resources from pollution in the catchment area of Lake Batllava. The catchment area of Lake Batllava has an area of 225km² and the active storage volume of the lake is assessed to be 34.4 Mill. m³. The current population of the Municipality of Prishtina is estimated to be around 400,000 and Lake Batllava supplies with drinking water around 64% of the population in this area. We will use this source to support our main idea "Water resources in Kosova are relatively small, and the rivers are seriously polluted"! Moreover, we will download the table (or pic) that shows exactly the branches of Batllava Lake "Figure 3: Sub-basins of the catchment area of Lake Batllava". This is another fact that is a bit to be discussed and will help us as an argument for the project: "Chemical parameters, for which analyses were conducted, are in general in the acceptable range for raw water for water supply. Also, Lake Batllava is used as a recreation area during summer". Aliu, Leonora. (2011, September). Lumi I Shkatërrimit të Madh. Jeta Në Kosovë. Retrieved September 12, 2012, fromhttp://gazetajnk.com/?cid=1, 978,92 “Lumi I Shkatërrimit të Madh” is translated into “The Destruction of the Great River.” The article was released on September 25th, 2011. In addition, the river is called the White River which is located in the area called Dukagjin. Moreover, the White River is the largest river in Kosovo. It is about 122 kilometers long. In the article, Ms. Aliu explains that the river still continues to not be taken care of by the institution and the community as a whole. Furthermore, the problem that is being explained is that the sand and the rocks that are located in the river are being taken out from the river which causes the river to have a shape of a flat surface. The river tries to gain back the balance of its natural shape, but as much as it tries to do so, the waterway continues to become flat which causes a fast speed of its flow. Despite the importance of the white river, the destruction is reflected by the destruction of the agricultural land, water use, and flooding. The problem occurring because of the destruction of the river is that the community that receives the river is the poor region in Kosovo and so they will not be able to receive any water because of this situation happening. Moreover, the White River is one of the cleanest waters. Such a great source to write for since the White River is a very important one in Kosova: "The Director of the Commissions for Mines and Minerals states that the case that is happening to the White River is against the law and there are about 170 cases that occurred exactly like this one and about 29 orders that state, it should be prevented. This illegal operation that is being done to the White River still continues without the concern of the society. Furthermore, a political advisor by the name of Gazmend Avdiu states that they are working on a campaign for the awareness that has happened in order to have more people know what is happening to the White river. According to an environmentalist by the name of Gjonbalaj, he states that the ministry will not have any effect on this situation because they will never help with this situation; the White River isn’t the only river that is in destruction." This is an argument telling that people are polluting the rivers in Kosova and creating problems to themselves. Arbneshi T., Zuzaku I., Beqa L., and Rugova M. Water Quality Of The Morava E Binçes River. Rep. Prishtinë: University of Prishtina, Faculty of Natural Science, Department of Chemistry. Retrieved from : <http://balwois.com/balwois/administration/full_paper/ffp-637.pdf>. This is an article which talks about the effect of water waste (sewage) on the quality of Morava e Binçes River. Within this article you can find a lot of information about how the quality of water changed through months, and who were the strongest indicators that changed water quality. The article explains that the reason that the river goes near a lot of urban areas has become kind of “sewage collector” and according to the tables inside the article this is the biggest problem and indicator of the water quality. Furthermore, the long term of uncontrolled water sewage has made the water polluted. Therefore this is becoming a very huge concern because if this trend continues, the water will not be potable. Another concern is that, the poor water quality will also lead to different diseases even by swimming. Behrami, S., Bajraktari, F., & Zogaj, N. Kosovo Environment Protection Agency, (2008). Ground water pollution in Mitrovica and surroundings. Retrieved from http://balwois.com/balwois/administration/full_paper/ffp-1084.pdf The authors argue that the drinking water quality in Mitrovica region is not satisfying. One of the contributors toward this is the pollution from the industry as well as the waste water. Indeed, this pollution includes the river of Ibri and Sitnica. This report presents the state of surface waters in the two main rivers of Mitrovica, and as such helps one determine the level of drinkable water in Mitrovica region. This Article/Research Paper relates to Mitrovica and its water polution problems. Mitrovica is based in the North of Kosovo and owns the main part of natural resources. According to the article, Mitrovica is not only the most polluted city in Kosovo, but in Europe. The article discusses the water polution caused by exploiting those natural resources, which basically polluts the 3 main rivers that cross the city and from which the city gets the main water supply. It contains a lot of tables to make the contamination of the drinking water clear. The article is originally written in English. From this link we will discuss about Iber River in Mitrovica and the impact that Trepca mine has in the water quality: "From the industrial objects of “Trepca” corporation, used water goes directly on Iber, which contains;leaden, zinc, and cadmium while having in mind that these are the main elements of pollution that it goes into the river." Dreshaj, A., Feka, F., Malija, A., (21 August 2012) Pollution of Heavy Metals in the White Drin River Basin, Retrieved 26 September 2012, from http ://modernscientificpress.com/Journals/ViewArticle.aspx?gkN1Z6Pb60HNQPymfPQlZJBZHPzIMhuThoLaiUmXPXdJTRac7Np9OyK+XHqUY9tT This research paper talks about the dirty water and presenting it as a significant factor for many diseases. In Kosovo, only 9% of freshwater was used for drinking, and the rest was used in agriculture and industry. The waste from industry and agriculture was the biggest polluter of water. In this study, pollution of heavy metals in the White Drin River Basin was evaluated. Some physicochemical parameters of water samples, such as pH value, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, hardness as well as concentrations of HCO3- and CO32- were measured, and concentrations of nine elements in water samples were determined by ICP-MS technique. Franciškovic-Bilinski, S., Gashi F., Bilinski, H., (29 May 2010) Establishing of Monitoring Network on Kosovo Rivers (Drini I Bardhë, Morava E Binçës, Lepenc and Sitnica. Retrieved 08 October 2012, from http://balwois.com/balwois/administration/full_paper/ffp-1455.pdf The main aim of this work was to establish a monitoring network on the main rivers of Kosovo. We aim to apply WFD (Water Framework Directive) in Kosovo as soon as possible, and our research could be the first step towards it. Waters of the rivers such as: Drini i Bardhë, Morava e Binçës, Lepenc and Sitnica, which are investigated systematically. Statistical methods are applied to find locations where integrated water resources management can be suggested. Sediments of these rivers were also investigated at the same monitoring points and results have recently been published by us. In this paper we present results of mass concentrations of ecotoxic metals: Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Mn(II) in waters of four main rivers of Kosovo. Results of anomalous concentrations of ecotoxic metals in water are compared with anomalous concentrations of the same elements found in sediments. Gazeta Express, "Ferizajasve u kerkohet qe te kene kujdes me ujin e pijes". Retrieved February 2012 from: http://www.gazetaexpress.com/?cid=1,15,74624 This news report states that the water in the city of Ferizaj will be contaminated by the melting snow in a few days time. Citizens are advised by doctors from the Public Health Institute to avoid drinking the water that flows from the Ferizaji hydro-station. GIS Section of Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning. (June 2002). Provisional institutions of self-government. Prishtine, Kosova: UNMIK. Retrieved from, http://enrin.grida.no/htmls/kosovo/SoE/design.htm Hammer, Cliff, (19 March 2007) Kosovo: Water Resources Management, Retrieved: 08 October, 2010, from http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/news /2007/03/snews687424 http://www.emwis.net/thematicdirs/news/2007/03/snews687424The relatively high population density and the traditionally and the traditionally irrigated agriculture have to cope with warm and dry summers and lacking waste water treatment.