Croatia Reports Low Microplastic Levels in Drinking Water

The Institute for Water “Josip Juraj Strossmayer” released the first national monitoring results for microplastics in Croatia’s drinking water. The study, published in the 2025 health‑fit report of the Croatian Institute of Public Health, found an average of 0.144 particles of priority polymers per litre – roughly one microplastic particle in seven litres of water.

These concentrations are comparable to or lower than values reported in European literature, which range from about 0.9 to 2 particles per litre. Using the EU‑approved methodology, the institute also measured raw water and observed a 94.7 % reduction of microplastic particles during the treatment process. Director Mario Šiljeg highlighted that the principal significance of the work is establishing Croatia’s first national reference value for microplastics in drinking water, which will support future monitoring and policy decisions.

The report notes that comparisons should be made cautiously, as results depend on particle size ranges (20 µm‑5 mm) and analytical methods, and that nanoplastics remain unmeasured due to the lack of standardized techniques.