Reducing the Vulnerability of Societies to Water Related Risks at the Basin Scale (Proceedings of the third International Symposium on Integrated Water Resources Management, Bochum, Germany, September 2006). IAHS Publ. 317, 2007, 179–185.
Has traditional water management failed at Ljubljansko barje water resource?
MIHA NARTNIK, BRIGITA JAMNIK & PRIMOŽ AUERSPERGER
JP Vodovod-Kanalizacija d.o.o., Vodovodna cesta 90, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract The immediate southeastern and western vicinity of Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital, comprises the area of the Ljubljansko barje. The area is over 725 km2 and has rich natural (karst phenomena, swamp, lakes, many kinds of birds) and cultural (archaeological sites from prehistoric and Roman times) heritage, with its mountainous hinterland. Ljubljansko barje, with its three main aquifers, Holocene, upper and lower Pleistocene, is also an important source of natural pure drinking water. In spite of good surface protection of the lower gravel and karstic aquifer, the water resource is a vulnerable, especially shallow, Holocene aquifer. Various human activities on the surface can result in groundwater pollution. A vulnerable water source means a vulnerability of society, as polluted water may cause real health and other problems. One of the last events that confirmed the concern and the need for immediate changes in the water management happened in spring 2005. An unusually high concentration of trichloroethene (TCE) was detected in active shallow wells that were immediately shut down. None of the remediation measures were carried out. It is still an open question whether the non-active behaviour was the most appropriate solution during this event, and how to act properly on such occurrences from the environmental and socio-economic point of view.
Key words Ljubljansko barje; trichloroethene (TCE); water management; water resource; vulnerability of society