Drinking and sanitary water management has been, is and will be the subject of constant attention, negotiations and agreements between all relevant factors involved in creating preconditions for use of water supply services and the disposal and treatment of wastewater, primarily for the benefit of users of these service – it was bespoken at the Second Montenegro Water Conference held on 16-18 October in Ulcinj, Montenegro.
The Conference was organized by the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro and Association of Waterworks of Montenegro with the support of the Regional Capacity Development Network (RCDN).
On behalf of the host city, participants were greeted by Mr. Ljoro Nrekić, Mayor of the Municipality of Ulcinj, and on behalf of the organizers by Mr. Refik Bojadžić, Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro and Mr. Milan Bulatović, President of the Executive Board of the Association of Waterworks of Montenegro. The Conference was officially opened by Mr. Saša Radulović, State Secretary, Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism.
The conference discussed the reform of the water services system in Montenegro, which concluded that there is a need for further negotiations and harmonization of positions between lawmakers and actors at local level – municipalities and water utilities. Within the session on \”Achieving Excellence through Cooperation\”, the available platforms and programs for capacity building provided through the RCDN Network were presented as well as a Memorandum of Cooperation between the Union of Municipalities of Montenegro and the Association of Waterworks of Montenegro. Participants also had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Program for the management of untreated water and the concrete results of good practice achieved through this Program. The session “Available funds for financing projects in the water sector” presented the available EU and other grants, as well as lessons learned and practices from Montenegro and the region.
The second day of the Conference was dedicated to experience and challenges in wastewater treatment, the current situation regarding infrastructure in Montenegro, as well as lessons learned in the management and maintenance of WWTP in Montenegro and the region. Also, replacement of asbestos-cement pipes; improvement and expansion of the sewer system in Risan and Perast; SEEAM Project – Results of Asset Management in Montenegro are just some of the current projects that contribute to the improvement of the water services system in Montenegro that were presented at the Conference.
The Conference gathered more than 100 participants from the country and the region and 28 local and international experts who, through their participation, contributed to a quality exchange of experiences and best practices in water and sanitation sector.
