The Hydrology and Hydrogeology of Montenegro

Abstract

The waters of Montenegro flow through the Adriatic Sea Basin and Danube River Basin. The main rivers within the Adriatic Sea Basin are the Moraca, the Zeta, the Cijevna and the Bojana, and within the Danube River Basin, they are the Piva, the Tara, the Lim, the Ibar and the Cehotina. The largest onshore surface water body is Lake Skadar, which is shared between Montenegro and Albania (around 60% of the lake surface belongs to Montenegro). The Adriatic Sea Basin, although richer in water, has a poorer river network, primarily because of the widespread distribution of karst (terrain made of highly permeable carbonate rocks). The paradox is evident in the fact that a surface river network is almost entirely absent in the western part of Montenegro, i.e. in the area with the highest precipitation in Europe (the mean annual precipitation at Mount Orjen is around 5,000 mm). Atmospheric water from this area easily infiltrates into the permeable ground and flows through a subsurface network of karst channels. It only appears in springs distributed along the Adriatic coast and along the edges of large karst depressions. The total mean annual runoff from the territory of Montenegro is around 595 m3/s (the average specific runoff is 43 l/s/km2). When taking into account these mean annual values, it can be concluded that Montenegro is extremely rich in water. However, the karst regime of flow causes a significantly uneven time distribution of water resources throughout the year. In the dry season, discharges are more than a thousand times lower than discharges in the rainy period; even at the end of summer, numerous springs and riverbeds are completely dry.