In June, a significant incident occurred at the Bulgarian seaside—a collector pipe leading to the wastewater treatment plant in the “Albena” resort malfunctioned. The situation proved to be serious, with a 85-meter section of the pipe being swept into the sea.
The event became public knowledge only after some time. Currently, at the height of the tourist season, institutions are handling the situation. However, several crucial aspects of the process remain neglected. Here’s what we know:
The exact date of the incident remains undisclosed. What is known is that the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water (RIEW) in Varna became aware of it on June 4 and issued a press release on June 20. This marked the first official notification of the incident. The timeline raises questions—the malfunction occurred earlier, but the public was informed 16 days later.
During this gap, on-site inspections were conducted, revealing that the situation was not trivial. Various institutions, including RIEW, the Black Sea Basin Directorate, and the Regional Laboratory in Varna, visited the site on June 5. The “Albena” resort, which owns the treatment plant, and the Dobrich Water and Sewerage Company, the operator, were also aware of the incident. Despite this, none of these entities saw fit to notify the public.
In the press release, it was stated that water samples were taken on June 5. The results indicated that the treated wastewater from the plant met the required standards for dissolved substances, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. However, no data from other tests were provided.
The implication was that the water was clean.
Yet, the Dobrich Regional Health Inspectorate (RHI) allowed for the possibility of “short-term contamination of bathing water in the area of the incident until it is resolved.” They acknowledged a potential health risk to the population and issued **recommendations to limit water use** at the beaches “Kranevo-Central,” “Albena,” and “Kranevo-South.”
This information was released by the health authorities on June 21.
Meanwhile, environmental authorities maintained that everything was fine.
On June 22, Minister of Environment and Water Petar Dimitrov visited “Albena” and assured that the water was within acceptable limits.
However, on June 23, the results from the RHI were released, confirming the presence of **enterococci** and **Escherichia coli** at the incident site near “Casablanca” snack bar and at the “Kranevo-Central” point. This shattered earlier reassurances. The water at “Kranevo-South” and another point in “Albena” remained clean. Despite the presence of bacteria, RHI did not ban swimming in the contaminated areas but **again recommended limiting water use**.
On the same day, “Albena” resort announced its own test results. Samples taken from “Arabella Beach” and “Gergana Beach” indicated that the water was “extremely clean and safe for swimming.”
Meanwhile, the Dobrich Water and Sewerage Company stated that emergency water discharge would begin on Monday, June 24. This leads to the reasonable assumption that from June 4 to 24, **untreated water had been leaking into the sea**.
On June 24, Tourism Minister Evtim Miloshev appeared on television, stating, “It sounds alarming, but it’s not.” He clarified that chemical water tests were clean, while biological indicators showed slight increases, but nothing critical. He also noted that media headlines were not objective and reflected misunderstandings. Miloshev emphasized that only **treated water** had been discharged into the sea, implying there were no major problems. However, he could not explain why the incident had been kept quiet for 16 days or why bacteria such as E. coli had been detected if only treated water had been released. His explanation involving microorganisms and other technicalities did little to clarify the situation.
On the same day, new environmental data was released. As readers may have noticed, environmental agencies and RHI conduct separate tests. According to the latest results from the environmental agencies, everything was “entirely fine” at three test points. Yet, the RHI’s earlier results showing bacterial contamination were described as reflecting a **”moderate state of sea water.”** Perhaps linguists should step in to explain what “moderate state” means in this context.
In the meantime, public anxiety continues to grow. Tourists are asking whether they need to seek preventive medical care, whether they should let their children swim, and they criticize the institutions. These discussions can be found in every virtual group for Kranevo. People’s emotions shift with the daily news—panic with bad news, and conspiracy theories (“Someone is deliberately trying to ruin the season!”) with less dire updates. It’s a fact—people are both frightened by the situation and fed up with negative news in general.
This is the full story so far. The facts, although contradictory, are out in the open. Is anything unclear? Yes, there are bacteria, but no, there’s no contamination. In a day or two, all test results will likely come back clean, and as always, the media will be blamed for everything.
Nevertheless, we can draw one clear conclusion: There was an incident, there was contamination, and all institutions, except RHI Dobrich, **tried to downplay it**. The timeline of testing, locations, types of tests, which results to release and when—this is an old administrative tactic for proving the unprovable.
