The State of Water in Kosovo, 2010

Gjendja e Ujërave në Kosovë1. INTRODUCTION SECTION1.1. INTRODUCTIONReporting on the state of the environment in Kosovo, including the state of environmentfor specific sectors (water, air, soil and biodiversity), is a responsibility and task of KEPA,based on the law of environmental protection.Within these tasks and responsibilities, in addition to the preparation of the general reporton the state of environmental, KEPA has to report on the state of certain environmentalsectors.This report provides information on the state of water and water sector in general. Thedata for the preparation of the report were collected from the institutions that monitorwater quality, water management companies and other government and non governmentorganizations that deal with water sector. This report includes details about the laws andadministrative guidelines for water, water strategic documents and data from projectsand donors in this area. Some data presented in this report are taken from variousrelevant publications and reports.The report is divided into chapters and each chapter addresses a particular aspect. In thefirst (introductory section), general data for Kosovo are presented. The second chapterpresents the situation with legal and institutional framework for water management. Inthe third chapter of the report are presented general information about water resourcesand rainfall.The fourth chapter contains data on water use in various sectors such as households,agriculture, industry, energy, etc..The fifth chapter of this report addresses the problem of water pollution and wastewatertreatment, while in the chapter six are presented data on water quality monitoring ofsurface water, groundwater and drinking water. The report includes the chapter ongeneral aspects of water management as tariffs for services provided, projects andinvestments in water sector. In a separate chapter the report provides conclusions andrecommendations.The last chapter presents the references (sources) of data presented in this report.1.2. GENERAL INFORMATION FOR KOSOVO1.2.1. Geographical positionKosovo has a central geographical position in the Balkan Peninsula. It lies between 41°50’58 “and 43° 51’42” of north geographical latitude and 20 ° 01’30” and 21°48’02” ofeast geographical longitude. Kosovo’s geographical position is considered of particularimportance in terms economic, cultural and political areas, related to the region and theworld.Kosovo has a total area of 10,887 km ², with about 2.1 million inhabitants (1991 estimate)and the average density of 192 inhabitants km². It is bordered with Albania (southwest),Macedonia (southeast), with Serbia (east, north and northeast) and Montenegro (west).The overall length of the border between Kosovo and neighbouring countries is about700.7 km.© Agjencia e Kosoves per Mbrojtjen e Mjedisit15120