1.1.1.WATER RESOURCES Water resources are considerable in Albania. River discharge into the sea is estimated to be around 40km3/year with an annual specific discharge of 29L/sec/km2, which is one of the highest in Europe. Groundwater resources represent about 23 per cent of the total renewable resources. Groundwater sources are the main source of drinking water and the major source for irrigation. Because of the geological structure of the Albanian mountains, with developed karst manifestation and highly permeable gravelly aquifers in the lowland areas, groundwater resources are abundant and of good quality. The hydrographic basin of Albania has a total area of 43,305km2, of which only 28,748km2, or 67 per cent, is within the Albanian borders. The overall renewable resources amount to 41.7km3 or 13,300m3 per capita, of which about 65 per cent is generated within Albania and the remainder in upstream countries. Resources are unevenly distributed throughout the country. The major water resource is surface water, which is found in rivers, lakes and lagoons. The most important rivers are the Drini, Mati, Ishmi, Erzeni, Shkumbini, Semani, Vjosa and Bistrica. The country has several rivers (which form the six main basins), a number of natural lakes, and a multitude of artificial lakes for energy and irrigation. Lakes cover about four per cent of the country’s territory. The largest lakes are Ohrid, Prespa and Shkodra. There are also several reservoirs, totalling 5.60km3 of storage capacity, which have been built for flood protection, irrigation and the production of hydropower.

1.1.2.WATER USE Due to the ease of extraction, groundwater has often been unnecessarily used in industry and for irrigation in agriculture. The latter has become a cause of concern, as 21 per cent of groundwater extracted is used in inefficient irrigation practices. In some areas of Albania, there has been rapid depletion of groundwater resources; this disastrous trend is likely to continue in the next decade. It is often associated with increased salinity and alternated hydro-chemical balances in the aquifer, indicating brackish water intrusion. Population movement toward cities has put additional pressure on the water resources of some lowland areas, where extraction rates are increasing steadily. Surface water is widely used in irrigation, electricity production, industrial processes, mining, construction, etc. Water for irrigation is taken from rivers and from 626 reservoirs with a total estimated volume of 562 million m3, estimated to irrigate 1,540km2, which is 22 per cent of total agricultural land. Albania had a relatively good irrigation network some decades ago; however, the irrigation technology used was mainly open channel flow, which has resulted in massive wastage of water.

1.2.WATER QUALITY, ECOSYSTEMS AND HUMAN HEALTH Albania’s major environmental problems are deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution from industrial and domestic effluents. It is important to stress that Albania has used massive amounts of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, especially before 1990. Because detection of these pollutants is difficult and more advanced analytical capacities are needed, it could be the case that the scale of this kind of pollution has been underestimated. Water quality in the main rivers is as follows: Chemical analysis and quality monitoring has shown that the Drini river has good water quality with stable mineral composition and low metallic concentration. There should be no restrictions on using its water for irrigation or other purposes. Groundwater quality is generally satisfactory in the mountainous part of the basin. Lowland areas have some problems with salt water intrusion, but this has not been sufficiently investigated. The Mati contains a high concentration of heavy metals, flowing through an important copper mining area. These pollutants should be at lower levels than previously, due to diminished mining activities since 1991. At present, the effect on groundwater resources downstream and in coastal areas has not been assessed. Areas near Lezhe and Laç have high pH values and levels of chloride in groundwater, which indicates the presence of salt water intrusion. This may be related to the excessive drawdown of the water table due to overexploitation. The rest of the basin has acceptable groundwater quality. The Erzeni and Ishmi rivers present high levels of iron, manganese, nitrates, BOD, etc. This is due to domestic and industrial discharge from densely populated areas along their beds. Groundwater quality near Fushe-Kruje and Tirana is generally acceptable; in some cases, excessive concentrations of iron, nitrite, nitrate, sulphate, and hardness have been observed. Part of Tirana city is supplied with water through extraction from this good yield aquifer. The Shkumbini river presents high levels of iron, nitrites, ammonia, etc. due to mining activities upstream. Another important source of pollution is the metallurgical industry in Elbasan, which is responsible for seriously effects on biodiversity in the area. Information on the river’s quality has not been updated, while the levels of discharge of pollutants into the water body have recently changed. Water extracted from the alluvial riverbanks is used – without any significant treatment except chlorination – for human consumption in the towns of Lushnja and Rrogozhina. Odour and sulphate problems are well known, especially around Lushnja. It should be noted, however, that Country Overview - Albania data on water quality derive from standard chemical analysis of the most common pollutants, while analysis of hydrocarbons, pesticides and heavy metals are scarcely performed because of insufficient analytical capacities in the only two laboratories that specialize in this process. Water analysis of the Semani river shows a high content of oil, phenols, BOD, ammonia, etc. This pollution is caused by the oil extraction and refinery industry, as well as some domestic discharge of wastewater. Downstream, the negative effects on biodiversity, especially in the coastal area, are immense. The groundwater in this aquifer contains high levels of ammonia. It is not clear if these levels are caused by water infiltration from the polluted river, or from the mineral composition of the soil (this area is a former swamp). The water quality in the Vjosa river is generally good, with slightly high values for hardness and chlorides in some parts. Use of this water for different purposes should not be a problem. Groundwater resources are of good quality, with some presence of nitrite and nitrate around the Novosela area. The cities of Fier, Vlora, Gjirokastra and Saranda are supplied from this aquifer. Many springs are present in this basin; some of these are among the biggest in Albania. Significant industrial sources of pollution are not yet present.

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