Restoring the Mirusha River: Kosovo’s first dam removal

Introduction

The Mirusha River is part of the White Drin River basin and flows through an area of high ecological and landscape value in Kosovo. Downstream of the dam, the river is connected to the Mirusha Waterfalls Nature Monument, a protected area of national importance that depends on the river’s natural flow regime.

The Mirusha River is a biodiversity hotspot. Ecological surveys recorded 157 animal species, including 83 aquatic species, and led to the discovery of a spider species previously unknown to science, later described as Eratigena mirusha.

Project context and opportunity

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. The barrier is obsolete, does not generate hydropower or provide drinking-water supply or essential irrigation services, and currently offers only limited informal recreational use.

Technical investigations identified cracks, damaged spillway elements and structural deficiencies. During the January 2026 floods, the structure had to be partially opened because of increased water pressure, highlighting its safety risks. Ecologically, the dam fragments habitats, alters flow and sediment transport, and contributes to stagnant conditions in which untreated wastewater and organic pollution accumulate.

Following a previous Open Rivers Programme pre-demolition grant, this removal project provides an opportunity to improve the river’s poor ecological status and deliver Kosovo’s first dam-removal demonstration project.

Project aims

The project will remove the full vertical extent of the Mirusha Dam and restore free-flowing conditions in the river. Removal is expected to reconnect approximately 113 km of river habitat, comprising 35 km upstream and 78 km downstream when tributaries are included.

The intervention will restore natural flow and sediment transport, enable fish movement, improve water quality and support the recovery of aquatic biodiversity and river morphology. It will also reduce environmental and safety risks associated with the deteriorating structure and contribute to the protection of the Mirusha Waterfalls Nature Monument. Monitoring before, during and after removal will document changes in water quality, macroinvertebrates, fish communities, sediment dynamics and river morphology.

As Kosovo’s first dam removal, the project will strengthen institutional knowledge and provide a practical model for future river-restoration initiatives.