Irrigation water quality and criteria/standards in Croatia - contribution to the environment and industry

The water quality used for irrigation should meet the prescribed criteria. The most commonly determined indicators are electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved salts (TDS), residual sodium carbonate (RSC) and sodium absorption ratio (SAR). Water can also contain harmful substances, regardless of whether irrigation is carried out from surface water or groundwater. The origin of the pollution can be waste, untreated wastewater or saltwater intrusion. The use of poor water quality can cause soil problems such as alkalinity, salinity, increased sodium concentration, toxicity, etc. In Koprivnica- Križevci county (KKŽ) and throughout Croatia, irrigation is currently poorly represented in agriculture. Given the climate change and the trends of very dry and hot seasons, the implementation of irrigation is of increasing importance. According to the results of determining the groundwater quality for irrigation in KKŽ, the values of the indicators are satisfactory (EC = <0.7 dS/m; TDS = <450 mg/l; RSC = <1.25 meq/l; SAR = <3.0 meq/l) for use in agriculture. However, since there are no standards and criteria in Croatian regulations that would define water quality, the results are compared with European/world standards. Water quality testing and the adoption of standards/criteria in Croatia could contribute to the future development of agriculture in increasingly unfavorable climatic conditions and prevent environmental pollution. This would ensure more efficient cultivation of plants, which also contributes to production in our own food industry.