Scientific Council confirms pollutants in Lika groundwater

The Scientific Council for Nature and Environmental Protection at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, or HAZU, issued a statement on the presence of so-called “forever chemicals” in local groundwater.

The council says the spatial distribution of the findings and the area’s hydrogeological characteristics indicate that pollutants are migrating from the disposal site towards the groundwater.

However, the latest results do not indicate contamination of the public water supply system, which the council says is important to communicate clearly.

As a preventive measure to protect public health, authorities have also launched an urgent effort to collect data on water supply systems outside the public network.

The council says soil contamination and documented local impacts on groundwater require remediation and long-term monitoring.