In the next 20-30 years, EUR 10 billion need to be invested in Serbia’s water sector, out of which 7-10 percent should go to the domain of groundwater development, to ensure a sustainable exploitation of this resource, Director of the Institute for the Development of Water Resources Jaroslav Cerni Milan Dimkic stated on Thursday.
Serbia has a huge groundwater capacity, measured in hundreds of m3/s available for water supply, while the country is currently utilizing only 15-17 m3/s, said Dimkic at the International Water Association (IWA) Specialist Groundwater Conference, which is being held in Belgrade.
Serbian Minister of Agriculture and Trade Dusan Petrovic said that the modern water-management practices were introduced in the territory of Serbia 200 years ago, but that due to the regional relations and crisis, there has been a drop in investments in that domain in the last 20 years.
The conference, which is being held at Belgrade’s Centre Sava from September 8-10, will gather 35 local and foreign lecturers from 12 countries. These distinguished professionals will present new researches in the domain of groundwater exploitation, and promote contemporary methods which will enable a sustainable development of this valuable resource for the supply of drinking water.
Source emg.rs
