Karlovac, 4 September: barriers held the pollution back, the swimming ban still stands

The situation is improving and the ban stays. Those two sentences do not contradict each other, though they are easy to confuse. After the 31 August fire at a chemical store in Mala Švarča, firefighting water ran into the Mrežnica and the city banned swimming downstream. Three days on, the measurements look better than expected.

What the measurements show

• According to first results, the barriers that were put in place stopped the pollution from spreading down the Mrežnica.
• Chemical oxygen demand points to the Mrežnica being in good ecological condition.
• A Korana sample from the Foginovo bathing spot, taken on Monday afternoon, came back at excellent water quality.
• Clean-up on the Mrežnica was due to finish on Thursday, with broader sampling to follow.

Why the ban stays anyway

One good sample is not the same as a clean river. Pollution moves at the speed of the water, not the speed of an announcement: a sample taken on Monday afternoon may have been taken ahead of the plume rather than behind it. That is why new tests are running, and the ban holds until they arrive. The city expects results by Friday at the latest.

Where you can still swim

Water does not run uphill. The ban covers the Mrežnica and the Korana downstream of Mala Švarča. The bathing spots upstream, from Duga Resa through Mrežnički Brig to Primišlje, and the Korana upstream as far as Rastoke near Slunj, are outside the banned stretch. If you are heading for Plitvice, Rastoke is open and its water comes from the Slunjčica, upstream of all of this.