Lake Ohrid faces sewage contamination from tourism establishments

The Public Health Institute reports that a large number of hotels, tourist neighborhoods and private homes along the shores of Lake Ohrid are potential or direct sources of black water pollution. Many of these properties, including those in Saraishte, Kaneo, Trpejcë, Ljubanishtë and Radozhdë, use septic tanks that often discharge untreated sewage directly into the lake.

Although a collector system was built to gather black water from Ohrid and Struga and treat it at a plant in Vranisht, several newer facilities remain unconnected, creating additional pollution risk. Only a few hotels – such as Makpetrol, Biser and others – are linked to the collector network. The report also notes litter such as plastic bags on the beaches contributing to water quality concerns.