Constructed Wetland for Nutrient Reductions in the Waters

Constructed Wetland for Nutrient Reductions in the Waters of Tirana River

• The Institute for Environmental Policy, with Ekolëvizja and Tirana Municipality are managing the “Constructed Wetland for Nutrient Reductions in the Waters of Tirana River in Albania” project, the 1 st first pilot project on nutrient reduction in Albania, being disseminated in order to replicate it in many polluted rivers and streams in Albania.

Objectives The objectives of the project are: • reduction of the organic pollution in the lower course of Tirana River through the construction of a wetland that will serve as a biofilter for the polluted waters of Tirana River; • creation of a wetland that will increase the biodiversity in Tirana River, attract different wetland species, and serve as a recreational place for inhabitants of the area and environmentalists; • implementation for the first time in Albania of a nutrient and pollution reduction project. • dissemination and awareness raising on the nutrient reduction need and its benefits, and on practices that decrease the nutrients flow to the rivers and watercourses.

Why nutrient reduction is important? Many ecological effects can arise from excessive nutrients in the water, but there are three particularly troubling ecological impacts: 1. decreased biodiversity; 2. changes in species composition and dominance; 3. toxicity effects. The more detailed effects are: • Increased biomass of phytoplankton • Toxic or inedible phytoplankton species • Increases in blooms of gelatinous zooplankton • Decreased biomass of benthic and epiphytic algae • Changes in macrophyte species composition and biomass • Decreases in water transparency (increased turbidity) • Color, smell, and water treatment problems • Dissolved oxygen depletion • Increased incidences of fish kills • Loss of desirable fish species • Reductions in harvestable fish and shellfish • Decreases in perceived aesthetic value of the water body

• Location

Activities November 2009 -February 2010: • The first phase of the project involved planning of the constructed wetland, water analysis, and the first environmental assessment of the area where the constructed wetland was planned.

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March 2010 -May 2010: • The second phase of the project consisted in building the constructed wetland at Bregu i Lumit, a location near the northern border of Tirana, at the banks of Tirana River.

• The constructed wetland system consists of native plantings in three basins, and two reconstructed channels designed to slow water flows. • The basins slow down the water flowing through the system, providing an opportunity for the vegetation to filter out pollutants, and for the aquatic organisms to thrive.

June 2010 -September 2010: During the 3 rd phase, Ekolevizja and IEP organized a series of dissemination and awareness raising activities, in order to promote and replicate the project in Albania and the region. • A conference with different actors and stakeholders was held on the 30 th of June 2010; • NGO leaders and government officials from the neighboring countries will come and see the project. • A series of meetings on the importance of nutrient reduction and benefits arising from the project have been organized with the local community.

Outcomes from the project • Creation of a wetland to reduce the flow of nutrients in the Tirana River through a series of 3 basins planted with aquatic plants which are still growing and processing the organic matter found in the water; • Biodiversity has been increased in the banks of the river—the creation of the wetland has already attracted frogs and some aquatic birds even one month after its construction; • Several students of the Natural Science Faculty have visited the wetland site and have expressed interest in visiting again to see the progress of the wetland;

• 3 informal meeting have been held with the local communities living near the river, where the importance or reducing nutrients, sewage and trash flow in Tirana River has been discussed. • 4 articles have been written in national newspapers on the project, and periodically Ekolevizja has published articles on the progress of the project in its biweekely newspaper “Ekolevizja”, and the project pictures and information have been also distributed via internet; • A conference on the project and the issue of Tirana River pollution was held on the 30 th of June, with different stakeholders; • Dissemination of the project and practice via media, internet and leaflets— 1000 leaflets and 200 booklets distributed.

• Natural wetlands act as biofilter, removing sediments and pollutants such as heavy metals from the water. • Vegetation in a wetland provides a substrate (roots, stems, and leaves) upon which microorganisms (periphyton) can grow as they break down organic materials. • The periphyton and natural chemical processes are responsible for approximately 90% of pollutant removal and waste breakdown.

Barriers • Being an informal area, the Municipality of Tirana is not offering any garbage collection system to the area; • People near the Tirana River have seized the riverbanks illegally and sell the land informally to newcomers, thus any future development of the riverbank as a buffer zone seems to scare the residents of neighboring communities; • Political and official support has been undermined by the political deadlock which has engulfed Albania since April 2010 and it is still ongoing, causing shifting of focus from the project and lack of interest in pursuing sustainability in nutrient reduction in Tirana River; • Vandalism has been occurring at the wetland site, like pulling out of some aquatic plants at the wetland, throwing of some plastic bottles in the wetland, pulling of the trees and bushes on the left bank of the wetland, and stealing of the project sign.

Tirana River as an issue • The Tirana River forms the present northern border of the old city. It represented a natural greenway corridor; • The riverbed averages 50 to 100 m in width as it passes along the edge of Tirana and the villages of Babru, Paskuqan, Bregu i Lumit, and then Laknas. There are tens of large deposits of sand gravel in the riverbed which are being taken away for building blocks and cement products; • Gravel mining takes place without supervision causing serious riverbank erosion; almost all trees and vegetation have been removed; • The river bed has been claimed for yards, building of houses, and squatter housing is appearing in the dry areas of riverbeds, causing losses during periods of floods; • No measures have been taken to plant trees or prevent bank erosion.

Government and private sector actions needed • Introduction of regulations and laws on the nutrients allowed to be dumped in the waste waters; • Introduction of buffers zones completed with wetlands along the river banks and cultivated lands; • Give directives to communes and municipalities, and businesses in Albania to treat agricultural wastewater through constructed wetlands; • Set earmarked grants for communes and municipalities, and incentives for businesses in treating waster through constructed wetlands.

Advantages in using constructed wetlands • Low cost compares to the mechanical removal of nutrients; • Low costs of maintenance; • Suitable for run off from agriculture and from small communities; • Helps Albania to comply with the EU Directive on Fish and Water (EU Directive 91/271, EC Fish Directive 44).