site.btaFaulty Discharge Collector in Albena Resort Brings Four Ministries to Urgent Discussion

The government is taking urgent actions to address the problem with the faulty discharge collector that carries purified water from the water treatment plant in the Black Sea resort of Albena, the Tourism Ministry said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, it became clear that the latest water samples taken by the Dobrich Regional Health Inspectorate show no pollution and the water in the resort is of excellent quality, with no deviations from the established standards and no risks to human health.

The matter was discussed at a working meeting hosted by Regional Development and Public Works Minister Violeta Koritarova and also involving Tourism Minister Evtim Miloshev, Environment and Water Minister Petar Dimitrov, Deputy Health Minister Dobromira Kareva and Deputy Regional Development and Public Works Minister Veselina Terziiska. The discussion was also attended by Dobrich Regional Governor Rumen Rusev, Balchik Deputy Mayor Dimitrin Dimitrov, Albena Executive Director Krasimir Stanev, the management of the Bulgarian W&S Holding and senior executives of W&S Dobrich.

Tourism Minister Miloshev commented: "Misreporting of the technological incident has had a highly negative impact on the local people, the business community and the summer tourist season in general. We are here not just to resolve the issue but to analyze the situation and draw necessary conclusions, so that we can have a mechanism for better inter-agency communication and better response, and protect the economy of this country and the sector of tourism."

"We are having an emergency here," Regional Development Minister Koritarova said. "All government institutions have joined forces to resolve the issue promptly," she added. She noted that the government is ready to provide the necessary funding for emergency repair of the discharge collector. The central authorities will be working with Balchik Municipality, which owns the collector.

Miloshev said tourism is very sensitive to all kinds of negative information, and when such information is misinterpreted, it causes the tourist flow to ebb. He recalled that last year's Kakhovka Dam Disaster in Ukraine was followed by false reports about a worsening of the quality of the seawater along the Bulgarian coast, while none of the water samples showed pollution. "At the height of the summer tourist season, we should not allow such media sensations to alienate tourists and fuel negative talk about Bulgarian resorts, particularly in cases like the one in Kranevo and Albena, where the malfunctioning discharge collector carries purified water."

Deputy Health Minister Kareva confirmed that the seawater samples taken by the Dobrich Regional Health Inspectorate over the last 72 hours have tested negative for pollutants, which means there is nothing disturbing about the water quality. A microbiological analysis has not detected any dangerous bacteria.