Fishermen reported rusty-brown waters in the sea-lake channel

A day before the Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI) in Varna issued a warning to avoid bathing at the Officers’ Beach in Varna, fishermen alerted the Public Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development about rusty-reddish waters in the sea-lake channel.

Danko Nedyalkov goes out fishing with his nephews on June 1 in his boat in Varna Lake. “The water was very dirty, brown. That’s why we went to Galata,” says Danko. To get into the boat, however, the children waded barefoot through the lake waters. After an hour and a half of fishing on Galata, they came back and stepped into the water to go ashore. “The next day, they said their feet got loose. In red dots. They went to the doctor,” says the fisherman. According to his observations, the water has been murky for two weeks. It was especially dirty in the old canal, towards the yacht club. “It was orange-red,” describes the situation the man, who personally went to see what was happening a week ago. He adds, “I know the pipe is burst and that’s why it is like this”. He worries that the lake is fishing mussels and could be poisoning people who consume them.

On our canal walkover on June 3, the water was almost clear. According to fishermen, the northwest wind has blown the pollution inland.

The PHI samples were taken between 27 and 30 May. At Officer’s Beach they recorded 697 MPN/100 cm³ of enterococci and 898 MPN/100 cm³ of Escherichia coli on 28 May, which dropped to 307 and 720 MPN/100 cm³ respectively on 30 May. However, they remain almost double the lowest bathing water quality of “fair”.

In the remaining areas along the Varna coast, the results were below 15 MPN/100 cm³, with the exception of Central Beach in Varna and Asparuhovo Centre Beach, where they were 30 MPN/100 cm³.

Already on 14 May, the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water (RIEW) in Varna received a notification from the Varna Water and Sewerage Company (VIK Varna) about a breakdown in the sewerage collector in the area of the Shipbuilder Stadium in Varna. The incident was reported on the notification of the traffic accident at the “Shipbuilder Stadium”. During a joint inspection with the Basin Directorate “Black Sea Region” and the Regional Laboratory – Varna, the eco-inspectors found that the two sewage pumping stations (SPS) were stopped for repair of the collector and overflow of wastewater was allowed. The repair work had to be completed the same day to stop the discharge of wastewater into the new canal connecting Varna Lake with the Black Sea.

Two days later, however, it officially became clear that there was a drop in pressure on the temporary pipeline running along the bottom of Varna Lake. The probable cause is a violation of the integrity of the pipeline, according to an announcement by the Varna Municipality and the Regional Inspectorate for Environmental Protection. The inspection of the eco-inspectors found that the pipeline, through which the wastewater from the district of Varna was disconnected, was broken. “Asparuhovo”, after mechanical purification is taken to Varna Lake. According to official information from RIEW, the integrity of the pipeline was restored at 18.30 on 18 May.

“Only today the water cleared a little, but it still smells of faeces. Before that it was rusty-brown,” Stancho Kazakov, chairman of the Malka Chaika fishermen’s cooperative, said on 3 June.

The saga of the pipe on the bottom of the lake has been going on for 5 years, with periodic reports of breakdowns followed by information about repairs. The last large-scale repair project, worth BGN 20 million, started in August last year and was due to be completed in early 2025.

“The implementation of this project will completely solve the problem of the pipe under the lake,” Mayor Blazmir Kotsev said at the time.

Currently, there is a buildup of pipes along the new canal on the north side. A work platform has been placed in the waters for a month, but fishermen have not seen workers here or any repair activity other than floats being placed on the pipe.

According to Stancho Kazakov, the pollution of the lake was most serious in the last days of May. He fears that despite the visibly brown waters, fish, mainly horse mackerel, newts and anchovies, continue to be caught, which is a prerequisite for health problems for those who consume them. And there has been no visible movement on the pipe repair.