76 HELMUT BLOECH
Independent consultant and lecturer
REGIONALNI VODOVOD OPERATES BY THE EU STANDARDS This round table here at Bolje Sestre is dedicated to challenges of the 21st century. Montenegro has, as State Secretary Radulović underlined, taken on just another challenge, by opening the environmental chapter, chapter 27, within the negotiations on EU accession. The principles and objectives of the Regional Water Supply for the Montenegrin Coast are not least fully reflected in the EU's policy and legislation on water protection and water management - safe drinking water in quality and quantity for citizens, businesses and tourists, - prevention of pollution, not repairing pollution afterwards, - precautionary principle. And all these principles are established from the constitutional framework (the Treaties) to the key elements of EU water legislation, the Water Framework Directive, the Groundwater Directive and the Drinking Water Directive, not least with an obligation of transboundary cooperation and protection (see annex with selected quotations) Montenegro is with the Regional Water Supply for the Montenegrin Coast well prepared for EU acce-
ssion, and the prevention and protection measures established by Montenegro will in the future also be valid and enforceable under EU law. This is of particular importance because of the very sensitive character of karstic springs - open to all sorts of impacts from human activity: commercial, industrial, urban pollution, interrelation with surface waters, atmospheric and climate impact etc. From a more personal perspective, I would like to add experience, within the EU, with a large-scale water supplies from karstic springs: I was born in Vienna (Austria), and this town with its now 2 million inhabitants, is - like the municipalities along the Montenegrin coast more or less completely dependent on karstic springs for the drinking water supply of citizens, businesses and tourists. Two large-scale karstic water sources were linked to Vienna by two main carriers, constructed 18691873 (95 km length) and 1900-1910 (180 km length) respectively. Similar to the planning and development of the Montenegrin coast water supply, several options have considered and scientific advice fed into the