1.

Blue fortune, water quality and usage in Kosovo region

Water is the most important element in our lives, and eco system on earth. Crucial role is for

drinking and human body can’t live without it, but one of crucial roles also is irrigation of land

for food production in agriculture.

Process of irrigation change trough time, methodology and technology improve in a way to save

as much water is possible. Since ancient Egyptian’s used “Nile annual flooding” to get water to

their farm land and the Persians were one of the first in history who dig a tunnels to move water

naturally into land. In nowadays there are three most used ways for successful irrigation.

Those are:

 Flood (furrow) irrigation, where water is pumped and allowed to flow over the ground.

 Drip irrigation, when water is send to land through pipes that have small holes in them.

 Spray irrigation, witch water is pumped through pipes at high pressure through a nozzle.

Flood and Spray method are still using in agricultural world but they become less popular and

favorable, because they spend allot of water and particularly for spray irrigation you need

electrical pumps which create unnecessary expenditure.

The Drip irrigation system show us in practical way how good designed, and managed can be in

a way of water conservation but also reducing evaporation and deep drainage when we compare

it with other types (Flood and Spray) that we already mention, water can be precisely applied to

the plant roots. Benefit of that is huge, we avoid diseases that can be spread through water

contact with the foliage, fertilizer and nutrient loss is minimized due to a localized and reduced

leaching.
1.1 Surface water

In Kosovo region annual average rainfall is about 596 mm.

Compared with other countries in the region the levels of rainfall and the renewable resources

per person are much lower. It is estimated that Kosovo has about 1,600 m3 total renewable water

resources per person per year, which is about 16% percent of the regional average (Source: FAO

Aqua stat).

1.1.2 Rivers and river basins

The White Drin is the primary stream in the Dukagjini district, and every single other waterway

and streams of the area keep running into this waterway. The bowl covers a territory of 4,829

km2. Naturally, the upper ranges of the waterway can at present be viewed as very perfect and

are wealthy in fish. The White Drin is utilized for angling and residential needs. The White Drin

crosses into Albania, where it converges with the Black Drin and after that streams into the

Adriatic Sea.

Kosovo’s water storage is underdeveloped. The combination of limited renewable water

resources and limited storage is making Kosovo very vulnerable to climate variability
Generally, stores are in the Iber Basin. The Gazivoda encourages the Iber-Lepenc trench.

Unfortunately, channel was never finished Iber-Lepenc hydro system, which would have had an

extra dam in Lepenc and be an interconnected framework for water system, water supply for

different sources and ecological administrations. Just the Iber some portion of the arrangement

was created, including its water system framework. The Lepenc Dam is right now contemplated

again for its present potential. The surface for accumulative topographical waters in Kosovo is

11,645km2.

Length of Kosovo Rivers in km.

Name Length of Kosovo Rivers in km

Drini i Bardhë 111.5

Sitnica 110

Lumbardhi i Pejës 56

Morava e Binçës 67

Lepenci 50

Ereniku 38

Ibri 85

Lumëbardhi i Prizrenit 36

 Source: KAS, Statistical Yearbook of Republic of Kosovo, 2017

According to “MESP/AMMK, the state of water Report in Kosovo, 2010” existing accumulation

reaches 569.690.00 m2. River that have the greatest annual flux are located in the basins of Drini

i Bardhe in the Dukagjini Plain.

1.1.3 Artifical lakes

Kosovo’s agricultural land was mainly supplied by flows and rivers up to 1970. Populace

development come really fast and demands for food increased rapidly. That change brings

differences in water systems. The water was started to be provided from artificial lakes and the

main accumulations in Kosovo nowadays are:

 Gazivoda Lake,

 Batllava Lake,

 Badovc Lake,

 Livoc Lake,

 Radoniq Lake,

 Perplenica Lake.

Reservoir Area of Volume Year of Irrigation Drinking Industry

water Million m3 construction water

ha
catcher

Gazivoda/Ujami 1060 740 1979 20000 ha Yes Yes

Batllava 226 55.1 1960 No Yes Yes

Badovci 103 46.4 1963 No Yes

Livoç 53.6 - - No No No

Radoniq 130 228.6 1982 10000 ha Yes No

Prilepnice 62 - 1982 No Yes No

Total 1634.6 1060.1

 Data were obtained from MESP/AMMK, The state of water Report, 2010

Based on date the amount of water accumulated into lakes currently comprises about 15% of

the overall amount of water flows in the Kosovo’s region.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Rural Development is created the project’s for

creating new accumulations, realization of project goanna be in the future period of time.

1.1.4 Natural lakes

Kosovo region has couple of natural lakes, also known as glacial lakes. Lakes are located in

two of Kosovo’s national parks: National Park “Sharri” and the other one in the National

Park “Bjesket e Nemuna”

 Source: ‹ http://www.panacomp.net/sara-national-park-sar-planina-mountain/ ›

Picture is taken in Natural park “Sharri”. That is one of lakes that National Park is
possessing, but National Park “Sharii” also include:

 Natural lake of Livadh,

 Natural lake of Bogovina,
 Black natural lake,
 Natural lake of Jazhinca,
 Natural lake of Brezna,
 Upper natural lake.

The natural lakes of National park “Bjeshket e Nemuna” include:

 Big Lake of Gjeravica,

 Small Lake of Gjeravica,
 Lake of Kuqishta,
 Lake of Drela.
1.2 Water Conservation in Agricultural Production

Agriculture production depend on water and a lot of water is used for effective productivity,

but is it amount of water used is right way?

Conventional agriculture production trying to avoid problems inefficient irrigation system,

often is not set up or created well in order to ensure that crops actually uptake the majority of

water that is used. There is minimal care about waste water and that should be one of first

thinks that agricultural society should being taking care. Evaporation is second biggest

problem in water efficiency usage, particularly in greenhouses where temperature is high

process of evaporation is increased and if plants aren’t properly irrigated percent of wasted

water goanna be increased. Drop by drop system like I mention is the most efficient way for

successful irrigation of plants, technology development takes us to new world of production.

Innovational way of production in these days are greenhouses, plants properly irrigated by

drop system, plants roots covered by plastic bags. This way of production shows us that has

most effect in quality of food and it has the largest contribution of the plant.

One more good solution for this problem for sure is bio-cleaner for agricultural waste waters.

Nowadays technology develop a system for converting a waste water and that is for sure

benefit for water conservation. The process itself takes about 90-180 days. This process takes

a lot of time, during that process takes muck into bio-digester and there is about 30 days.

Next step of converting is aerobic bio-cleaner and substance go’s in cycle until is converted.

After substance go to further polisher and that process takes about 5 days. This process has
also benefit of creating biogas and also producing microbes. Unfortunately, only developed

countries develop this kind of system, but I’m sure that Kosovo can do it one day for benefit

of agriculture.

1.3 Matter of water pollution

The water pollution is become increasing problem in our and animal life. Water pollution

occurs when chemicals waste or the other particles caused a body of water to become

harmful to everybody. Water pollution causes many problems, some of them are natural

causes, animal waste, algae causes eutrophication where sunlight can’t penetrate into water

and that causes death of life into rivers.

Kosovo’s labs for water quality was do analyzes and take samples from Iber river and Sitnica

river and they come to conclusion and result shows that Iber river belongs to third class (III)

of water.
This are results from sample:

 Source: KRD, Kosovo’s reland department,2015

 References:
 Trickle Irrigation for Crop Production, F. S. Nakayama and D. A. Bucks, editors,
published by Elsevier, 1986, ISBN 0-444-42615-9
 FAO Aqua stat
 KAS, Statistical Yearbook of Republic of Kosovo, 2017
 MESP/AMMK, The state of water Report in Kosovo, 2010
 KRD, Kosovo’s reland department,2015