The Supreme State Audit Office has identified continuous failures of the institutions responsible for eliminating the discharge of urban wastewater into the Lana River, concluding that the environmental situation remains critical and unchanged for years.
The audit assessed the measures taken by the National Environment Agency, the National Water Supply and Sewerage Agency, the Municipality of Tirana, Tirana Water Supply and Sewerage JSC and the Water Resources Management Agency, regarding the discharge of urban wastewater into this water body.
According to the Albanian Supreme Audit Office, the sewage network in the city of Tirana is designed in such a way that it discharges wastewater directly and without any treatment into the Lana River, while in peripheral areas, discharges are mainly carried out individually.
The investments made by UKT sh.a. have been mainly focused on water supply, neglecting the construction and improvement of the sewage network. The Municipality of Tirana and UKT have not planned concrete investments to reduce river pollution.
The Albanian Supreme Environmental Agency says that the National Environmental Agency has only conducted partial water quality monitoring, covering 2 of the 4 stations foreseen in the National Environmental Monitoring Program for the Lana River.
Data published by the NEA show that the Lana River is consistently classified in Class V - Bad Condition, exceeding the permitted norms for indicators such as biochemical oxygen demand, phosphorus, ammonia and nitrate, which indicates a high level of pollution from urban wastewater.
Despite the fact that environmental reports are public and have been forwarded to central and local institutions, the situation has not improved. Even in the 2024 monitoring, both monitored stations were again classified in poor condition.
30% of the population without sewerage, 70% with combined systems
The audit shows that around 30% of the population still uses systems without sewage (septic tanks), without treatment of fecal sludge in cases requiring emptying. Meanwhile, 70% of the population uses combined sewage systems, where rainwater mixes with urban wastewater, significantly increasing the risk of pollution and flooding.
The report dated 01.12.2020 prepared by AMBU on the verification of wastewater discharge points confirms that Tirana does not have a treatment plant and that, in the absence of separation of white and black waters, the main discharges end up in the Lana River and the Tirana River. In peripheral areas, wastewater is discharged into septic tanks or into streams and canals near homes.
The same situation is described in the Ishëm Water Basin Management Plan 2024–2029, which states that the existing sewage system is combined and planned to be used to the maximum, while separate sewage is foreseen for new areas without a public system. Meanwhile, the Tirana ITUN is still under construction, but the works have been suspended.
The audit also shows that the final project report for the design, modeling and evaluation of wastewater and stormwater management systems in Greater Tirana is expected to be submitted only in December 2025, delaying priority interventions.
Meanwhile, in the document "Action Plan for Resettlement - Lana Riverbed, urban redevelopment" (amendment 1), published on January 17, 2024, the Municipality of Tirana acknowledges that the Lana area has suffered from environmental degradation, periodic flooding, and public infrastructure deficiencies, as a result of unplanned development.
85 downloads and total lack of monitoring
According to the audit, about 85 pipes or collectors discharge into the Lana River, but UKT sh.a. does not monitor wastewater discharges. The laboratory administered by the company analyzes only drinking water and not wastewater. Also, UKT sh.a. does not have information on the number, location and frequency of cleaning of decanters or septic tanks that are directly connected to the river, while no preliminary treatment of wastewater is performed before discharge into the Lana River.
A recurring problem is related to flooding during heavy rainfall, when the rise in the Lana level prevents the collectors from discharging. This happens because rainwater also discharges into the same network, worsening the environmental impact. In informal areas, from the source of the Lana to the Shkoza roundabout and from “Pallati me Shigjeta” to the end point, the lack of investment and the informal construction of networks by the residents themselves have made it impossible to identify, inventory and monitor discharges.
Currently, the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources and the Albanian Water Resources Agency, in collaboration with UKT sh.a., are working to update the sewerage map through the GIS system, as part of the drafting of the sewerage master plan for Greater Tirana. Until then, according to the Albanian Supreme Audit Institution, the Lana River continues to remain one of the most problematic points of urban pollution in the country.
