News, June 2023

On 21.06.2023, the National Committee of Large Dams (ALBCOLD) organized the usual meeting for the month of June 2023. In this meeting, several issues were analyzed and discussed as follows:

• The annual report of 2022 for the use, operation, monitoring, and safety of the dam of the artificial lake of Tirana that is used by WWC of Tirana and of the 38 dams that are used by the municipality of Tirana. From the review of the documentation, it appears that WWCT has not yet submitted a Report regarding the Tirana Lake dam and has not provided any information regarding the completion of the requests of ALBCOLD for the monitoring of this dam. This dam continues to be in a problematic state since the rehabilitation requested by ALBCOLD has not been carried out for more than 20 years. Also, the Municipality of Tirana has not yet prepared and submitted civil emergency plans and regulations for the use, operation, monitoring, and safety of the large dams administered by it. After the discussions of all the members present, ALBCOLD decided to organize working meetings with the representatives of WWCT and Tirana municipality to request the implementation of the requirements of the law for the use, monitoring, and safety of the large dams that are administered by them.
• Register of large dams and their users for the year 2022. TC of ALBCOLD, after verifying the existing register of large dams and documentation received during this year, presented the revised and updated register for large dams and dam users. According to this register, it turns out that there are 351 large dams in Albania that are used by 67 public and private entities. A list of large dams and their users was presented for review and approval. ALBCOLD after reviewing this list decided to approve the register of large dams and their users presented by TC. This list will be published on the ALBCOLD website.

For more detailed information, please click Decision No. 18 of ALBCOLD, date 21.06.2023 here

• The 2022 annual report for the use, operation, monitoring, and safety of the HPP Murdhar dam was presented by the company HYDRO ENERGY. shpk as the user of the dam and the reservoir created by it. From the review and analyses of the Report, it was found that the Company has not yet prepared the Regulations for the use and monitoring of the dam, It has not prepared the civil emergency plan in case of dam failure or maximum possible flows, and it has not installed the alarm systems according to the requirements of the legislation. in power. After the discussions of all the members present, the ALBCOLD decided to ask the users of the dam for the regulation of the use, operation, monitoring, and safety of the dam, the civil emergency plan, the performance of bathymetric measurements for the current volume of water in the reservoir created by this dam.

For more detailed information, please click Decision No. 19 to ALBCOLD, date 21.06.2023 here

Also on June 22, 2023, a working visit was organized to the HPP Banje dam in the framework of the work plan approved by ALBCOLD for the 5-year control of 4 large dams that have been put into use in recent years

On June 26-29, 2023, at the invitation of the European network of dam safety authorities, a working visit was organized in Tampere, Finland, by the chairman of ALBCOLD. During this visit, working meetings were organized with representatives of the Dam Safety Authorities of the UK, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Greece, etc. More detailed information about these meetings and the issues discussed during this visit will be provided in the following days.