Minister of Health Irena Hrstić, after the session of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Nature, stated that water test results are within normal limits and announced an extraordinary session of Parliament.
Minister of Health Irena Hrstić appeared on RTL Danas on Monday, August 17, 2026, following her participation in the session of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Nature. Members of the initiative left the session, claiming they were not given priority in asking questions, but the minister emphasized that this is not true.
"Having been at the session, I can confirm that there was no talk of initiative members not being able to ask questions; quite the contrary," Hrstić said for RTL Danas. She added that the initiative members wanted to have priority, but it is more logical to first present the entire discussion and then ask questions for the sake of comprehensive reporting.
As the ministers arrived at the session, whistles could be heard. Minister Hrstić said this was expected. "It is to be expected that through this planned event, certain emotions will be expressed, including through whistles. As a minister, I am aware that our citizens are concerned, continuously concerned about whether they should be and what is happening with the water," she stated.
She emphasized that from a health perspective, there is no cause for concern, and that drinking water in Croatia is continuously monitored, not just since last year. "We are now only doing more and more frequent monitoring, due to an objective reason, and we will continue to adjust measurements depending on the situation and how the results turn out," she explained.
When asked if she would drink the water and eat vegetables from a garden if she lived across from hazardous waste, the minister answered by citing her expertise. "As a physician and scientist, having earned my doctorate and continuously worked and researched, I responsibly claim that in all test results and samples taken, the findings are completely normal," she said.
She particularly highlighted the latest testing by the Croatian Institute of Public Health conducted on August 13, 2026. "Water was tested from deeper positioned springs. The Mayor of Gospić himself mentioned that this is a karst area and that it is not just a matter of testing at a depth of 30 meters, but on August 13, samples were also taken from boreholes between 150 and 300 meters deep," she noted.
The minister called on citizens to trust the findings of experts whose reference values are comparable to any country in Europe. "Our task is to continuously repeat this and adjust sampling and sampling locations, to continuously inform and, depending on the findings, give recommendations to citizens. I guarantee we will do exactly that," she stated.
The President of the Republic will submit a request for convening an extraordinary session of Parliament. Minister Hrstić expects answers to questions from that session. "I hope there will be no circus, because what we experienced today was a circus. Today we did not do what should have been done: to discuss with professionally argued facts on both sides what the reports show," she said.
She concluded that citizens expect the truth, timely reaction, and recommendations from those in charge. "Citizens expect the truth from us, that we react in a timely manner and give them recommendations as we discussed today: completely truthful, accurate reports we possess about plans of what we will do. That is what we will do, and we look forward to that extraordinary session of Parliament," the Minister of Health stated.
