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Groundwater status assessment of the Dinaric karst area of Croatia

Croatia belongs to the group of the Mediterranean countries with large karst catchment areas. Recharge zones of these aquifers are in mountainous area where is the watershed between the Danube River Basin and the Adriatic Sea Basin. Discharge zones of Dinaric karst area are springs which form rivers flowing to Danube on the north, and springs which form rivers flowing to Adriatic Sea and coastal springs at the south. This typical carbonate karst area covers almost 50 % of the national territory of Croatia. The importance of Dinaric karst aquifers for Croatia is priceless for today's functioning of water supply systems, which includes the entire coastal touristic region and some of the towns in the inland. Also, karstic aquifers are the strategic reserves of drinking water for the future development of the Croatia. Because of the specificity of karst aquifers, in Croatia is developed a specific methodology of assessment of quality and quantity of karst aquifers that will be presented in this article. Karst area in Croatia is divided in 17 groundwater bodies (GWB) on which are performed quantity and quality status assessment. By assessing the chemical status two GWBs are declared as "in bad status" and are in the category “at risk”. These are the southern part of the Istrian peninsula and the wider area of Zadar city in Dalmatia. In southern part of Istria the problem is due to increased concentrations of nitrates and the problem in wider area of Zadar city is due to occasional saltwater intrusion to the aquifer. Assessing the quantitative status only wider area of Zadar city is declared as "in bad status" and “in risk” because of the occasional saltwater intrusion. Instead of that aquifer, the risk assessment additionally declared southern Istria also in the category "at risk" because of the possible saltwater intrusion. All other GWBs in karstic area in Croatia are in “good status” and “not in risk”. On these two GWBs the further characterization is performed with prescription of protection measures and operational monitoring system. We hope that these measures will provide improvement of the groundwater status by the end of the next planning cycle (next RBMP - 2021).

Dinaric karst aquifers ; Groundwater body ; Groundwater body status ; Groundwater body risk

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