WATER QUALITY EVALUATION USED FOR IRRIGATION IN ALBANIA

Due to the fact that Albania is rich in good quality waters for irrigation, problems related to water pollution are often neglected. Although water resources are a renewable asset, fed by rainfall, they become constantly being reduced as a result of pollution generated by the intensification of human activity. Industry, agriculture and urban wastes are the main polluting sources for surface and underground waters. This leads to the use of poor quality water with consequences for crop growth and yield. In this study was monitored the quality of water which is used in the territory of Albania for the irrigation purposes. Problems are identified and necessary recommendations are presented. Monitoring of water quality used for irrigation in our country is based on contemporary methods that are applied today in many countries of the European Union. From the analysis carried out results that most of the water sources for irrigation (rivers and reservoirs) have waters that fall in the category “good” and “suitable” for irrigation. Only the water of the Thana reservoir is not suitable for irrigation of susceptible plants due to the high amounts of salts dissolved in it. Monitoring of the water quality in different periods during the irrigation season is needed due to the fact that at the end of the season the concentration of solutes is increased.