(18 September 2015) Today, the Minister of Environment and Physical Planning Nurhan Izairi, in the premises of the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Skopje, addressed the Conference on “The state of water management infrastructure” where the main accent was placed on dams and the overall condition of water management infrastructure was discussed as well.
Expressing his belief that events of this kind contribute significantly to the exchange of experiences in the area, Minister Izairi said:
- Water is the the most important resource on earth known as “blue gold”. In statistical terms, in the period from 1938 to 2014, total of 41 large and 120 lower dams were constructed in the Republic of Macedonia. Hydro systems composed of dams and water reservoirs, as well as hydro tailings, are construction facilities bearing the greatest potential hazard to the environment.
Due to such hazards, in 2012, the responsible Ministry established Commission for Waters under the Law on Waters, composed of experts in this field. In the course of 2014, the Commission, in cooperation with the Ministry, conducted field inspections of 43 dams in the Republic of Macedonia and prepared collective Report on their status. The Report is recapitulation of the findings on hydro-technical facilities with assessment, final provisions and proposals for undertaking appropriate measures to improve the status of dams. The current safety status of dams with accompanying facilities is alarming for 4 dams (Slatino, Pishica, Glazhnja and Lipkovo) and critical for 5 dams (Vratnica, Otoshnica, Selemli, Petrashevec and Vodocha) that need to be urgently rehabilitated. Out of the 43 dams covered by field inspections, 9 dams or 21 % of the existing major dams are in invidious safety condition which is indication for necessary radical change in the current concept of reaching the required quality of dams in the Republic of Macedonia. In the course of 2013, the dam of Slatino experienced partial demolishing, and so did the dam of Pishica, for which the Ministry undertook measures in terms of preparation of technical documentation for rehabilitation. Twelve dams (Vratnica, Otoshnica, Petrashevac, Markova, Gradche, Loshana, Kozjak, Mavrovo, Shpilje, Globochica, Lisiche and Knezhevo)had damages that did not require urgent rehabilitation. 19 dams need certain rehabilitation measures. At this moment, the quality of dams’ maintenance is not satisfactory, as 20 dams are not maintained in a way anticipated for such strategic facilities. As many as 6 dams are literally left alone, and 6 dams have been neglected to the level that has made them vulnerable with unacceptable risk for the environment. This was the first signal to us that activities need to be proposed towards improvement of the efficiency of performance and functioning of water management systems.
In the course of 2015, Law on Water Management Companies was adopted for the purpose of establishing a Joint Stock Company which will be responsible for capacity strengthening and implementation of future activities in water management sector, as the highest body in the structure. It will take over the activities covered by water management companies, namely water supply, water drainage, construction and current and investment maintenance of systems.