ZAGREB, March 31, 2018 - Environmental Protection and Energy Minister Tomislav Ćorić said on Saturday that the Hrvatska Vode water utility would start connecting the Slavonski Brod and Sikirevci water supply systems as of Tuesday and that the people of Slavonski Brod would have lower water bills.
Speaking to the press after a meeting of the Slavonski Brod and Brod-Posavina County civil protection teams, convened over the pollution of the town's water supply plant, Ćorić said the water bills would be lower "first and foremost because of the fact that they won't have drinking water for some time."
He confirmed Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's announcement that the Slavonski Brod and Sikirevci water supply systems, separated by some 150 metres, would be connected in 15 days. He said the control of water quality in the wells of the Slavonski Brod supply plant would continue, after which it would be decided what to do about them.
"If their future isn't bright, further wells will be immediately drilled at the Sikirevci water supply plant, which has some of the best water in Croatia", he said, adding that permanent supply of Slavonski Brod with water from the Sikirevci plant would be ensured by the summer.
Asked by the press what had been done about the spilling of oil products from a nearby pipeline, Ćorić said inspectors immediately ordered a clean-up and established that there was no more spilling along the pipeline.
The Slavonski Brod town authorities said the water supply system would not be shut down and that the water could be used for personal hygiene. They also asked the Croatian Institute for Toxicology and Antidoping about the effect of the hydrocarbons discovered in the local water on people's health.
The Institute said the consumption of water with such concentrations was unlikely to affect people's health over such a short period of exposure, but that the water should not be drunk or consumed even if boiled.
The Defence Ministry said later in the day that six tank trucks with drinking water had been sent to Slavonski Brod and that the army was helping the people.
