7 May 2008 | Residents of several Albanian towns are consuming polluted drinking water, national media reported recently.

Studies by the Albanian Instutute for Public Health, quoted by the Koha Jonë newspaper, found that the drinking water in the towns of Milot, Kelcyre, Peshkopi and Lezha, just to the north of the capital Tirana, was contaminated. The outdated water-supply network was stated as the most likely reason for the pollution.

The situation, according to the institute’s representatives, was similar in other small towns as well. While many smaller towns this year had a problem with contaminated water, the media stated, larger settlements were starting to deal with the issue.

For the first time, the institute’s study found all samples from the water in Tirana to be unpolluted. It is expected that the capital will have a clean water supply throughout the summer months, when the danger of bacterial contamination is generally higher.

As BalkanTravellers.com reported in March, growing solid and wastewater treatment issues also endanger the water along Albania’s Adriatic and Ionian Sea coastline, though initiatives to address the problem are underway.