Ground Water Protection: Laws Oblige
Implementation of Sanitation Programmes, Maribor, Slovenia
Good Practice UN-Habitat 2000

Lead Idea

The ground water of industrial cities is exposed to high levels of soil and air immissions. In the case of Maribor legally stipulated water quality limits had already been exceeded. NGOs and concerned residents initiated a public discussion process to get the city government to take action. As a result the municipality designated ground water protection zones, each with its own improvement programme. Improvement and monitoring measures were financed with funding from the state and the World Bank.

Situation before the initiative began

In the 1980ies and 1990ies, Maribor was the biggest industrial centre of Slovenia and the air, soil and groundwater in and around the city are polluted accordingly. At the same time, however, ground water is the main source of drinking water for the city. Back in 1978, the institute for environmental technologies in cooperation with the hydro-meteorological society began to make regular assessments of the situation and found that the pollutant concentrations in the city's wells had exceeded the limits set by local legislation at the time.

Methods

Health authorities, NGOs and the public pointed out to the city and the Slovenian parliament that they were obligated by law to take measures. As a result, a revitalisation programme was introduced in 1991, in the course of which protection zones were established in the catchment areas of wells that were to remain free of waste and waste water. Many residents were already suffering from diseases of the pulmonary tracts and asthma, which is why state-of-the-art boilers were introduced to lower immissions to the air. The city's waste management department contributed its share in pointing to the effects of illegal dumps, while revealing a number of ill-practices such as the use of pesticides in agriculture. Financial support of the project, which includes improvement and regular monitoring of the quality of air and water, as well as establishing a national data network is provided by the ministry of the environment, the municipality and the World Bank.

Implementation

Much of the regulation, which was passed as a result of the above situation, focused on adding pumps and pipes to the supply network, preparing a crisis protection plan and establishing a long-term educational concept. Pollutants have been dropping continuously since 1993 and EU standards ought to be reached by January 2003. The limits originally valid for the area were adapted to federal laws and subjected to a downward revision.

Experiences/transfer

In 1999, Maribor won the "City Towards EU Compliance Reward", and the results of its successful project were presented at the "Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns" in Hannover in 2001. The entire project or parts of it are easily transferred to other cities in the EU candidate countries.

Implementation of Sanitation Programmes in the UN HABITAT database
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