Kosovo is preparing to remove the obsolete Mirusha Dam, opening up 35 kilometres of river habitat and restoring free-flowing conditions along a river that ecological surveys have identified as a biodiversity hotspot.
asserted
surveys → prepare → hotspot
The Mirusha River flows through an area of high ecological and landscape value and is connected downstream to the Mirusha Waterfalls Nature Monument, a nationally protected area that depends on the river's natural flow regime.
asserted
that → flow → regime
According to the Open Rivers Programme, which is funding the demolition project with local organisation Ecopana, surveys recorded 157 animal species in the river, including 83 aquatic species.
uncertain
surveys → accord → species
The project is expected to reconnect approximately 113 kilometres of river habitat in total when tributaries are included, consisting of 35 kilometres upstream of the dam and 78 kilometres downstream.
asserted
tributaries → expect → dam
The removal is scheduled to take place between September 2026 and January 2027 and is intended to restore natural flow and sediment transport, improve water quality and allow fish to move through habitat currently blocked by the dam.
asserted
fish → schedule → dam
This ambitious restoration project demonstrates how removing outdated infrastructure can meaningfully reconnect fragmented ecosystems, offering valuable lessons for broader river restoration efforts throughout Europe.
asserted
removing → demonstrate → Europe
The dam was built without required permits in 2009
The Mirusha Dam is an approximately 9-metre-high reinforced-concrete structure built by the Municipality of Malisheva in 2009 without the required environmental and water-management permits, according to the Open Rivers Programme.
uncertain
Dam → build → Programme
The organisation describes the barrier as obsolete because it does not generate hydropower, provide drinking-water supplies or deliver essential irrigation services, while its current recreational use is limited.
asserted
use → describe → services
Technical investigations identified cracks, damaged spillway elements and other structural deficiencies.
asserted
investigations → identify → cracks
During flooding in January 2026, the structure had to be partially opened because of increased water pressure, which the project documentation identifies as highlighting safety risks associated with the deteriorating dam.
asserted
documentation → have → dam
The structure also fragments river habitat and alters the natural movement of water and sediment.
asserted
structure → fragment → water
According to the project documentation, stagnant conditions upstream have allowed untreated wastewater and organic pollution to accumulate, contributing to the river's poor ecological condition.
uncertain
wastewater → accord → condition
Complete removal is intended to address both the ecological fragmentation and the risks associated with the ageing structure.
asserted
removal → intend → structure
Ecological surveys found a spider species new to science
The biodiversity surveys carried out around the Mirusha River also contributed to the discovery of a spider species that was previously unknown to science.
asserted
that → find → science
, researchers formally described Eratigena mirusha, a spider from Kosovo, using morphological and molecular evidence.
asserted
researchers → describe → evidence
The species is now recognised as endemic to Kosovo, with the World Spider Catalogue listing its distribution as Kosovo.
asserted
Catalogue → recognise → Kosovo
The Open Rivers Programme identifies Eratigena mirusha among the species associated with the Mirusha biodiversity hotspot and says the species was identified with support from an earlier Open Rivers Programme grant.
asserted
species → identify → grant
The dam-removal project lists Chondrostoma ochridanum, Pachychilon pictum, Rodeus amarus, Rhyacophila macedonica and Eratigena mirusha as focal species.
asserted
project → list → species
The Albanian roach, Pachychilon pictum, is classified as Near Threatened, while Rodeus amarus is the species currently listed by the project for the European bitterling.
asserted
amarus → classify → bitterling
Removing the dam should restore natural flow and sediment movement
The project is designed to remove the entire vertical extent of the Mirusha Dam rather than modify the existing structure.
asserted
project → remove → structure
According to the Open Rivers Programme, the removal is expected to restore natural flow and sediment transport, enable fish movement, improve water quality and support the recovery of aquatic biodiversity and river morphology.
uncertain
removal → accord → biodiversity
The organisation also says that the dam currently contributes to stagnant conditions in which untreated wastewater and organic pollution accumulate upstream.
asserted
wastewater → say → which
These changes are intended outcomes of the project rather than results that have already been observed, since demolition has not yet taken place.
asserted
demolition → observe → place
Monitoring will therefore be carried out before, during and after removal to record changes in water quality, macroinvertebrate communities, fish communities, sediment dynamics and the physical form of the river.
asserted
Monitoring → carry → river
The distinction is important because the project's ecological benefits are projections based on the planned restoration intervention, not measurements of conditions after the dam has already been removed.
asserted
dam → base → conditions
The removal builds on Kosovo's first dam-removal project
The demolition follows an earlier Open Rivers Programme pre-demolition grant that funded preparatory work for removing the barrier.
asserted
that → build → barrier
The organisation describes the current project as Kosovo's first dam-removal demonstration project and says it is intended to strengthen institutional knowledge and provide a practical model for future river-restoration initiatives in the country.
asserted
it → describe → country
The demolition timeline is September 2026 to January 2027, meaning the project is still forthcoming rather than completed.
asserted
project → mean → January
It forms part of a wider European river-restoration effort by the Open Rivers Programme.
asserted
It → form → Programme
In an August 2026 announcement, the programme said it was supporting 33 new projects across Europe and that its overall portfolio had reached 243 projects in 35 European countries.
asserted
portfolio → say → countries
It also reported that projects supported by the programme had removed 141 barriers and reconnected 1,820 kilometres of river.
asserted
projects → report → river
The Mirusha project therefore represents both a local restoration effort and part of a broader attempt to reconnect fragmented river systems across Europe, with its results to be assessed through the monitoring programme once removal begins.
asserted
removal → represent → programme
The Aporia
