Croatia has invested €5.2bn in water management since 2016 as climate change brings more frequent droughts and floods and increases pressure on water resources, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on September 8.

Plenković said climate change was changing the country's approach to water management, requiring greater focus not only on flood protection but also on preserving water supplies during droughts, protecting groundwater and reducing losses.

"What may seem like a natural abundance to us today will be one of our most precious strategic resources tomorrow," Plenković said at an event marking 150 years of organised water management in Croatia.

Investments since 2016 have enabled 130,000 people to gain access to water, while 500,000 now have access to improved water supplies, he said. The possibility of connecting to public water supply has reached 96%, with 91% actually connected.

Around 515,000 residents have gained access to public drainage since 2016, while 2.3mn have access to improved drainage and wastewater treatment systems.

Plenković said 269 water-management projects worth €1.9bn had been approved under the EU-backed recovery plan, including €1.2bn in grants. Another €914mn in grants had been secured through the EU Competitiveness and Cohesion programme.

More than 300 km of flood embankments have been built or reconstructed over the past decade, while five major retention areas can hold around 2bn cubic metres of water.

"But investment in infrastructure must be accompanied by investment in knowledge, monitoring, prevention and institutional capacity to react before a problem arises," Plenković said.

Croatia's water-supply network now exceeds 50,000 km, while 118 wastewater treatment plants have been built or reconstructed in the past decade.