The Jablaničko Jezero reservoir in Bosnia and Herzegovina is considered one of the most beautiful lakes in Europe. Environmentalists are warning that the reservoir, which is so popular with tourists at home and abroad, is at serious risk.
The once turquoise lake water now appears brown. Algae, which arise as a result of environmental pollution, are to blame. Without sufficient oxygen in this water, massive fish deaths are to be expected, warns Sanel Riđanović, head of the biology department at the University of Mostar. There is currently a law in Bosnia that allows companies that do not have sewage treatment plants to continue to discharge their wastewater into water bodies. Their suggestions for more effective measures to reduce environmental pollution have so far gone unheeded, according to Riębanović. It is suspected that municipal wastewater disposal in Konjic or industrial facilities could be the causes of the pollution in the reservoir. The algae bloom occurs every spring and once again puts the ecosystem of the lake to a tough test.