April the 20th, 2023 - An interesting Neretva Valley archaeological discovery has seen the pause button pressed on a long awaited project worth half a billion kuna.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, for almost a decade in the very south of Dalmatia, more precisely in the Neretva Valley, residents been waiting for a systematic and long-term solution to the problem of salty sea water that penetrates upstream and slowly kills agricultural production, the main (and extremely important) economic activity of that region of the country.

A glimmer of hope appeared with the National Project of Irrigation and Agricultural Land Management, within which the Lower Neretva was selected as a pilot project.

EU funds

The value of the venture was estimated to stand at more than half a billion kuna, and its envisaged realisation spanned two phases, firstly the physical barriers to the penetration of salty water coming in from the sea, and then in the second phase, the construction of a distribution network system to arable agricultural areas. EU funds would drive the project forward.

However, during the preparations, a problem arose that suddenly stopped this undertaking, which is crucial for the preservation of production in the entire wider Neretva region. The site chosen for the construction of the barrier, more specifically between Komin and Opuzen, turned out to be a place hiding a very valuable archaeological site.

During the surveying of the terrain and the underwater part of the research which was carried out back in 2021 by Hrvatske vode (Croatian waters), under whose authority the project was prepared, it was determined that the remains of two wooden vessels were buried in the riverbed. In addition to them, ancient amphorae and fragments of Roman ceramics and processed wood were also found, and last year, they had five underwater archeological probes investigate within this narrow zone and fragments of processed wood were found that probably belong to the ship's construction, while part of the amphora was laid in a row, indicating that this is the old ship's cargo.

It was concluded that this Neretva Valley archaeological discovery was the remains of a shipwreck from the Roman period, all of which were found at the location intended for the construction of the bulkhead, where part of the cargo and possibly the ship's structure were probably preserved. Based on data from Croatian waters, it is estimated that the vessel dates from the period from the end of the 1st century BC.

The valuable artefacts were partially or completely buried in sand and mud and were documented by sounding, and now, before starting any activities on the project of installing a dam and building an irrigation system, Croatian waters is hiring experts who will carry out underwater research and conservation/restoration works.

Conservators from Imotski

A contract has just been concluded with the Institute for Maritime Heritage Ars Nautica from the island of Pasman near Zadar, which won the rights to the job in a public tender at a price of 600,000 euros and for which it has four months from the start of the work.

The Conservation Department in Imotski will decide where the exhibits from this Neretva Valley archaeological discovery will end up showcased. After that, activities with the project to save production in the Neretva Valley will continue as they were until now. The project of setting up a mobile barrier and creating a pool of desalted water that would be transported to agricultural areas through a pressure distribution network system would enable salt to be washed from the surface layer of the soil and ensure quality water for the cultivation of agricultural crops.

The next step for Croatian waters will be to prepare everything so that it can finally start investing, which will require 73.5 million euros in total.

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ZAGREB, 2 Oct, 2021 - Deputy Prime Minister Tomo Medved and representatives of the Hrvatske Vode water management company and local authorities on Saturday agreed models for dealing with the key issues in the reconstruction and development of Sisak-Moslavina County after last the December's earthquake, including flood protection.

Medved, who chairs the task force dealing with the aftermath of the tremor, said in Hrvatska Kostajnica that now it was important to build flood protection systems, ensure water supply, and rehabilitate sinkholes, notably those near family homes.

He also underlined the importance of projects within the remit of the State Reconstruction and Housing Office, saying the 500 reconstructed family homes in the county were the prerequisite for people to return to safety.

Medved said structural reconstruction would begin around the middle of this month, as would the construction of replacement family houses in which, he added, many companies were interested.

He also announced the start of construction on replacement apartment buildings.

Next week will see the start of works on a levee worth €29 million.

Hrvatske Vode director Zoran Đuroković said sinkhole rehabilitation would begin next week.

State Reconstruction and Housing Office state secretary Goran Hanžek said 592 houses had undergone non-structural reconstruction and that 300 projects had been contracted for structural reconstruction. He added that 200 heritage buildings would be fully reconstructed.

Sisak-Moslavina County head Ivan Celjak underlined the importance of a HRK 180 million interest-free loan that he said would be used to deal with the damage sustained by county-owned buildings and for development projects.

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ZAGREB, Aug 22 - A public institution for waters is going to be established in Zagreb this year, in accordance with the the national legislation on water management, the Jutarnji List daily reported on Saturday.

The funding for this public institution called "Institute for Waters 'Josip Juraj Strossmayer'" is ensured from the budget of the Hrvatske Vode water management company which is in charge of managing public water resources as well as protective and hydro-ameliorative systems.

The daily says that a million kuna will be earmarked for that purpose in 2020 and another million kuna both in 2021 and in 2022.

The institute will be a scientific institution in charge of providing research and expert support to the Hrvatske Vode company.

Organised water management in Croatia began in 1876.

Croatia among leading countries in Europe in terms of drinking water reserves

In 2017, the European Union's statistical office Eurostat published a report showing that in terms of freshwater resources per inhabitant, Croatia is at the top of the rankings among 28 EU member states.

"In the EU, Croatia recorded the highest volume of freshwater resources (with a long-term average of 27,330 m³ per inhabitant). Finland and Sweden had the next highest volumes at around 20,000 m³," Eurostat reported in October 2017. 

According to the 'World water development report' of the United Nations, a country experiences 'water stress' when its annual water resources drop below 1,700 m³ per inhabitant.

The volume of freshwater resources per inhabitant is considered to be an important indicator for measuring the sustainability of water resources.

UNESCO survey: Croatia ranks fifth in Europe according to water availability

According to the findings of a survey conducted by UNESCO in 2003, Croatia ranked fifth in Europe according to water availability and resources and was 42nd on the world’s water ranking list.

The Croatian underground water resources are estimated at some 9.2 billion cubic metres. Of that, 4 to 5 per cent (400 million cubic metres of renewable water supply) is used for providing water supplies annually.

For instance, the capital of Zagreb and its surroundings consume 135 million cubic metres of water annually.

Croatia has 25 billion cubic metres of surface water supply. Of that 23 percent refers to sources, streams and rivers springing and pouring into on Croatian territory.

All natural and artificial streams in Croatia are some 32,000 kilometres long on the aggregate.

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