STA, 20 August 2021 - The government has confirmed a plan for a major new water source for the water-starved Istria region on the coast, a decision that has been welcomed by municipalities in the region but decried by local environmentalists as damaging for the environment.

The EUR 134 million project, confirmed by the government earlier this week, involves building a reservoir on Suhorca stream, and a smaller reservoir on the Padež, a larger stream of which Suhorca is a tributary.

The reservoir would supply water to three existing water supply systems in the region, which is typically very dry because of the karst terrain and, more recently, climate change.

The decision came after almost two years of public debates on the need for a new water source prompted by a train accident in mid-2019 during which a kerosene leak threatened to pollute water supplies for much of the region.

The plan was chosen over an alternative proposal to link up the three existing but separate water supply systems in the region, which would have reduced supply disruptions but would not have increased the overall volume of available water.

The coastal municipalities Ankaran, Izola, Koper and Piran have welcomed the government decision as a major step towards improving the reliability of supply.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, they said the decision was "not only a step towards sorting out water supply in Istria but also the start of resolution of one of the key national security issues."

Locals living in villages in Brkini, a hilly part of Istria where the streams will be dammed, have long opposed the project on environmental grounds and insist the project is hugely damaging.

They say untouched nature will be irreversibly damaged and the altered water regime will pose a risk to the Škocjan Caves, a UNESCO-listed natural wonder.

The government and the Environment Ministry "have clearly shown they don't care if unspoilt nature is irreversibly degraded, habitats and ecosystems destroyed, and the UNESCO status of global natural and cultural heritage lost," Mario Benkoč of the civil initiative Let's Preserve Brkini told the STA.

Brkini locals advocate the link-up of the existing water supply systems and urge the government to abandon the project immediately. A protest is planned in Suhorca Valley on Saturday.

STA, 11 July 2021 - The rejection of the new waters act is a vote of no confidence in the government by the people, who have succeeded in doing what the opposition had failed to do in parliament, according to political analyst Andraž Zorko, who sees the high turnout as an indicator of topics that may feature prominently in future elections.

Voters Strongly Reject Water Development Act in Referendum

Zorko, an analyst for the pollster Valicon and host of a political podcast, noted that over 635,000 people voted against, which is half the number of all voters who cast their votes in the 2018 general election.

"This is yet another very tangible sign what would happen today if this were an election day," he told the STA. "This means that this government de facto no longer has legitimacy".

He said another milestone judging from testimony from polling stations is turnout by youths, which indicates that politics in general, not just this government, will have to change its approach to legislation.

In general, environmental issues are what activates youths. "It is more than obvious that interest among youths is significantly higher because they realise this is about the world that they, not the current decision-makers, will live in."

Slovenians overall are very green and environmentally conscious and these issues will in future affect the activation and turnout of younger voters in particular, he said.

STA, 11 July 2021 - Slovenian voters have overwhelmingly rejected the new waters act in a referendum on Sunday. More than 86% voted against, show near-final unofficial results. The statutory requirement that at least 20% of all voters must be against for a law to be rejected has been satisfied as well. 

After more than 99% of the votes were counted, the tally showed 86.6% voting against and 13.4% in favour of the law.

Turnout was just shy of 46%, the highest in a referendum since 2007. It was the highest in Ljubljana, at nearly 50%, and lowest in the Ptuj electoral unit, at almost 37%, according to preliminary data by the National Electoral Commission.

The law was overwhelmingly rejected in all 88 electoral districts, with the share of the no-vote exceeding 80% in almost all districts.

The referendum revolved around provisions of the new law that determine the development of coastal, lakeside and riverside areas.

It was initiated by a grassroots movement of mostly NGOs that objected to provisions that they say would lead to too much development, damage public access to waters and potentially jeopardise groundwater.

The no-vote is a sign that people have had it with obstruction of democratic rights and indicates their disagreement with current policies, Nika Kovač of the Institute 8 March said in an early comment.

"There are claims that the votes were emotional. And I say yes, they definitely were. But they were based on a clear opinion of experts and the work of environmental organisations that the authorities constantly ignored," she said.

Uroš Macerl of the environmental NGO Eko Krog said that people had demonstrated that water and nature were something they were not prepared to give up and perhaps the greatest assets of Slovenia. "This is a victory of courage and activation of good people who wish to change things for the better," he said.

Macerl highlighted that this was also a victory of the young, noting that young people showed they would fight for their future. "I really missed this in the past 10, 15 years of activism and I'm extremely glad," he said.

He also noted that quite a few parties that had been on the side of the experts in this referendum campaign had done many mistakes when it came to environmental policy in the past, urging them not to repeat these mistakes if they ever get to lead the country again.

The government claimed the opposite than the against camp, arguing that the new provision would in fact protect coastal, lakeside and riverside areas from over-development.

Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak said the referendum had been stolen and misused to achieve other goals, including political targets.

"People have reacted emotionally ... voters were encouraged by some pamphlets that have nothing to do with the legislation's purpose," Vizjak told public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.

STA, 9 July 2021 - Voters will be heading to the polls on Sunday to support or reject a set of changes to the waters act passed on 30 March. The government and the bill's opponents have presented diametrically opposing views on whether the new legislation expands or limits construction in areas around bodies of water.

Coastal or embankment areas are currently defined as five or 15 metres from the perimeter of a body of water such as the sea, lake or river.

Under Article 14 of the existing waters act, the government can narrow coastal or embankment areas on the proposal of developers, but only under certain conditions.

Construction is now allowed only in an existing building plot within a town, it must not worsen flood safety or threat of erosion, and must not affect water quality.

If a coastal or embankment area is narrowed, however, no special safety measures regarding construction apply to it, despite the closeness of water.

The new act regulates this in Article 37, which the referendum proponents find the most problematic.

Although it introduces the provision that a water permit will have to be obtained for all construction projects, it no longer requires building only within an existing building plot within a developed area.

The opponents claim this significantly expands areas eligible for construction if municipal zoning plans are changed, which is easy under pressure from capital.

But the government says that the new Article 37 expands the strict rules from coastal and embankment areas to water areas and areas of intermittent lakes, as it prevents construction there, except for certain exceptions.

The exceptions are among others construction of public or utility infrastructure, including for the country's defence, or buildings constructed for public good, including hotels and restaurants.

Several types of construction related to water protection are also allowed along the construction for safe navigation or protection of people, animals or property.

These exceptions have been transposed from the existing law into the new one, with two more added: simple buildings and buildings for public use.

While the opponents admit that a few simple buildings will do no harm to waters, they believe a cumulative effect could be extremely harmful.

Since 2008 when the law enabled narrowing of coastal and embankment areas, there have been very few exceptions approved, which the opponents see as the existing law protecting waters relatively well.

Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Andrej Vizjak meanwhile says the new legislation improves the existing situation.

He has recently explained that the existing legislation allows all types of buildings if a coastal or embankment area is narrowed, including private mansions.

This will no longer be possible, as only simple and public-use buildings could be build there, while every project will also have to be approved by the Water Agency.

This means decisions will be in the hands of experts rather then politics, Vizjak has argued in favour of the new legislation.

However, the government and the three coalition parties seem to be largely isolated in their promotion of the new rules for areas close to waters.

The referendum proponents - a broad coalition of environmental NGOs termed the Movement for Drinking Water - had opposed the bill while it still in its early stages.

They have since seen massive support by those with vested interest, such as water experts and engineers, but also organisations with practically no direct link to water management, such as WWII veterans.

The University of Ljubljana stressed the new law enabled construction even on water, and the Speleological Association said it enhanced risks of pollution.

"In Slovenia we are well aware of the role of water and the water sources which we manage. We are one of the two EU member states which have legislated the right to drinking water by writing it down in the constitution," the Academy of Sciences and Arts (SAZU) has said as it presented its view against the bill.

In a heated political atmosphere, some see the referendum as a vote on the government, while the two opposing sides have also accused each other of misleading voters.

The campaign wraps up at midnight after problems with early voting at several major polling stations in Maribor and Ljubljana as well as problems with registration for absentee voting, leading to accusations of voter suppression.

STA, 6 July 2021 - Slovenian voters who will be unable to go to the polls on Sunday, 11 July, to vote on the changes to the waters act can do so in early voting from Tuesday to Thursday between 7am and 7pm at over 92 polling stations around Slovenia.

Water Act Referendum on 11 July Aims to Protect Coastal Land

A voter can cast their vote in early voting only at the local electoral commission which covers the area of their permanent residence.

While the early voting will largely take place at the seats of district electoral commissions, there are around a dozen exceptions.

For all districts within the Ljubljana Administrative Unit, early voting will take place at the Gospodarsko Razstavišče fairgrounds.

Standard rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus will have to be observed, with voters having to enter polling stations one by one.

Until tomorrow, voters can apply to vote on 11 July outside their place of permanent residence or at home.

Voters with permanent residence abroad who would like to vote in Slovenia can also still apply tomorrow to do so.

The referendum was initiated by several NGOs associated in the Movement for Drinking Water, which is critical of the new rules for construction on sea and lake coasts and on riverbanks. It claims that the new legislation liberalises construction and might lead to over-development of coastal areas.

Voters - just over 1.7 million are eligible - will be asked whether they support amendments to the waters act passed by the National Assembly on 30 March.

STA, 1 June 2021 - Slovenia is among the eleven EU member states where all bathing water sites, on the coast and inland, are suitable for bathing, a report on European bathing water quality for 2020 shows. The group also features Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Slovakia.

Europe had almost 22,280 bathing sites last year. In 2014-2020, the share of "excellent" bathing sites stood at 85-87% for coastal sites and at 77-81% for inland waters.

Slovenia's Environment Agency (ARSO) said as it presented the data that water quality is always a bit better on the coast due to the sea's greater capacity to self-clean.

ARSO said Slovenia was also one of ten EU member states which provided a sufficient number of water measurements during the bathing season.

Slovenia's bathing waters on the coast had been above EU average for years, because they were all of excellent quality until two years ago.

Following a pollution in 2019, one site, Žusterna, is now rated "satisfactory", lowering the excellence status to 95.2% for 2019 and 2020, ARSO said.

The share of excellent inland bathing sites in Slovenia in 2020 was at 76.9%, on a par with EU levels.

There were meanwhile 296 sites with poor bathing water in Europe in 2020, meaning bathing is not allowed. This is 1.3% of all sites.

The bulk were in Italy (93), followed by France (78), while Italy also led the way in terms of the number of sites where bathing was permanently banned over five years.

ARSO's report for 2020 shows that 85% or 40 of a total of 47 bathing sites in Slovenia were excellent, 8.5% good, 6.4% satisfactory and none poor.

First test results from this year indicate that bathing waters will also be very good this season.

Explore an interactive map of all Slovenia’s bathing water sites, and if you like the look of the bay at the top of the page, learn more about Strunjan here

STA, 25 May 2021 - Slovenians will head to the polls on 11 July to vote on amendments to the water act that have pitted environmentalists, who say the legislation paves the way for the build-up of coastal land, against the government, which says their claims are misguided.

The referendum was supposed to be held on 4 July, but it was pushed forward by a week after it was determined that recent electoral law changes had inadvertently left out a few settlements with roughly 800 inhabitants.

The delay, the coalition argued, is needed so that electoral law can be fixed in time. The opposition countered that this was merely a manoeuvre designed to push the date deeper into the summer season.

"If the [coalition] cannot ban the referendum, at least it will adjust the date so that turnout is minimised, because we know that a quorum is required to vote down a law," LMŠ deputy Tina Heferle said.

The vote will be held after an alliance of green and leftist NGOs gathered well over the 40,000 signatures required to call a referendum.

The NGOs have focused on amendments concerning the development of coastal areas that they say would be a boon to private investors and could jeopardise not just surface waters but also groundwater in the long term.

The government has dismissed the allegations as fabricated, with Environment Minister Andrej Vizjak reiterating today that the legislation would achieve the exact opposite of what the environmentalists claim.

He said it brought more money for maintenance of waterways and narrowed the scope for construction in coastal areas.

Left MP Nataša Sukič wondered whether this means all environmentalists in the country were ignorant and unable to understand the legislative provision.

A law is rejected in a referendum if the majority vote against and the no votes represent at least a fifth of all eligible voters.

The last referendum, held in 2017 and concerning the construction of the Divača-Koper rail track, was unsuccessful.

Waters act referendum proponents convinced voters will say no

STA, 26 May 2021 - The proponents of the referendum on changes to the waters act, scheduled for 11 July, believe that they will be able to convince the voters to reject what they see as controversial legislation despite the unfavourable date. They expect a difficult campaign ahead in which the other side could mislead people and instigate divisions.

The date was set by the National Assembly on Tuesday after the initially proposed date, 4 July, was pushed forward after it was determined that recent electoral law changes had inadvertently left out a few settlements with roughly 800 residents.

The delay, the coalition argued, is needed so that the electoral law can be fixed in time, while the opposition countered that this was merely a manoeuvre designed to push the date deeper into the summer season.

The initiative for the referendum was given by an alliance of green non-governmental organisations who say the legislation paves the way for more construction on coastal land and river banks, against the government, which says their claims are misguided.

Commenting on the date, Uroš Macerl of the Drinking Water Movement told the STA on Wednesday that it was "logical that they wanted to set the most unfavourable date and push it deep into the holiday season. This had in a way been expected."

According to him, the postponement of the date and the "insulting dialogue" in parliament is proof that the proponents of the changes are afraid and aware that "we have managed to bring a large number of people of different views together".

The proponents of the referendum are ready to encourage voters to hit the polls in the largest possible numbers despite the difficult conditions and the unfavourable date. Macerl expects a difficult campaign that would attempt to divide people.

"They believe that we have left and right water, but people are not that stupid," said Macerl, who believes that people of different creeds, including political, will rally around the goal to protect drinking water for all Slovenians.

"We must protect drinking water for future generations as the greatest asset Slovenia has," he said, noting that the changes allowed construction of hotels, shops and shopping malls along the sea coast and river and lake banks.

The new law will be rejected if a majority of those going to the polls vote against it, yet only if at least 20% of all eligible voters go to the polls. The last referendum in 2017, concerning a huge rail project, failed on both counts.

STA, 16 August 2019 - The National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has been notified that golden-brown algae have multiplied at Lake Bled. Bathers should therefore avoid water activities where the algae are visibly present and take a shower after bathing.

NIPH reports that the algae can be spotted as brown coloured areas. The institute also advises against bathing in areas where the algae are present or sitting on dried algae on the lake shore.

The bathers should also take a shower after bathing. In case of allergic reactions such as skin irritation or breathing difficulties the bathers should seek medical assistance.

Špela Remec Rekar from the Slovenian Environment Agency, who monitors the state of Lake Bled, pointed out that the ecological state of the lake, which was always in good or solid condition, is worsening.

The expansion of tourism and an increase in the number of fishermen and bathers are the reason for this.

The Municipality of Bled is working on minimising the environmental effects on the lake. This year the municipality completed the construction of sewers and will gradually close the roads by the lake for traffic.

Some of the areas are closed off for bathing now, with Romana Purkart from the Bled Tourist Board "inviting bathers to the Grajsko bathing area that provides the needed infrastructure along with environmentally friendly sunscreen".

STA, 5 July 2019 - The city councils of all four coastal municipalities have urged authorities to present them within a month a timeline of activities to find a new, safe water source for Slovenian Istria.

Koper, Piran, Izola and Ankaran councillors met on Friday after almost 11,000 litres of kerosene spilled as a train derailed in a tunnel on the Koper-bound railway near Hrastovlje, south-west.

The spill is a threat to the Rižana water source, the only source of drinking water for Slovenia's coast. The greatest threat is heavy rain, which could make kerosene penetrate further into the soil and underground water.

The councillors are worried the state cannot guarantee the coast the constitutionally guaranteed right to drinking water if the Rižana source is contaminated.

They thus demand that all the necessary measures are taken and implemented to prevent the pollution of the only water source for Slovenian Istria.

Supervision of the state in which railway and road infrastructure is in water areas, should be enhanced, the councillors decided.

The railway infrastructure in water areas should be maintained and modernised to avoid any problems with the rail tracks.

The authorities should also make sure that trains carrying dangerous cargo in water areas run at adequate speeds.

Finally, the state should take measures to minimise risks for similar incidents.

If these measures cannot be guaranteed, then the option should be studied to ban transport of dangerous substances through water areas until a new water source is found.

The councillors also tasked the mayors to prioritise efforts to find a new water source and expressed support for the state's efforts to build the second rail track between Koper and Divača.

The session, which Koper Mayor Aleš Bržan labelled "Istrian parliament", was also attended by government representatives.

Environment and Spatial Planning Minister Somin Zajc promised serious efforts would be made to find a new water source, announcing a meeting with Istrian mayors at the ministry's water directorate for next week.

Several possible water sources have been proposed in the past, so it is clear which ones could be suitable, but they will have to be studied again, he said.

While he could not give any detailed timeline, he said "we're probably not talking weeks or months, but a year or two".

To further protect the Rižana water source from kerosene pollution, a special protective foil was laid in the Hrastovlje tunnel on Wednesday after much of the contaminated material was removed earlier.

All our stories on water quality in Slovenia are here

STA, 28 June 2019 - The Koper-Divača rail track, a crucial transport link for the Koper port, is expected to be reopened at midnight today and not at noon as initially planned, railway operator Slovenske železnice has announced. The reason is the decision to remove more of the material potentially affected by Tuesday's massive kerosene spill.

"We removed the contaminated rocks during the night, conducted probes in collaboration with the Environment Agency (ARSO) and planned to reopen the track at noon. Upon consulting with the Geological Survey and ARSO this morning we then decided to dig out additional material that could contain kerosene," Slovenske železnice director general Dušan Mes told the press.

"Thus the track will be reopened with a 12-hour delay," he announced.

Mes explained the need to remove another layer of the material was established after the removal of the first. The initial plan had been to do the second step within a period of 14 days, but security concerns prevailed.

"It would have made no sense to expose everybody to risk to save 12 hours," Mes said, while speaking of enormous pressure to reopen as soon as possible coming from everybody at home and abroad who are using the track for freight transport.

Tuesday's spill of an estimated 10,000 litres of kerosene caused by a derailed freight train near Hrastovlje in SW Slovenia has been causing serious water supply concerns as the oil is expected to reach the groundwater eventually.

The emergency efforts have been conducted under the watchful eye of the Koper municipal authorities, which is not happy with the work done so far and expects explanations.

A press release by the municipality says that the kerosene must not reach the spring of the Rižana river, which is a water source not only for the Koper municipality but for the entire Slovenian coast. A failure in this respect would have human as well as economic consequences.

Another major issue has been transport, as the rail link needed to be closed, including for freight transport to and from the country's commercial port of Koper.

To address the backlog and also direct the rail cargo to roads, the Infrastructure Ministry announced today it would allow heavy goods vehicles to also use roads from and to the Koper port during the upcoming weekend.

Heavier traffic is thus expected during the weekend, with roads already being busier than usually because of the tourist season.

The weekend permit was urged by port operator Luka Koper and the transport department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS).

Mes said it was too early to estimate the damage caused by the suspended rail transport. However, he expects it will be possible to make up for a lot of the backlog in July when there is usually less freight transport. Some of the cargo has meanwhile already been transported via road or through other ports.