More info on this call to action is on Balkan River Defence’s Facebook and Instagram pages (posts from May 3 and April 26) and their website (www.balkanriverdefence.org).
Chemical spill on Slovenia’s Soča River
On April 21, local paddlers in Slovenia’s Soča Valley woke to a nightmare. The Belgium-owned factory TKK spilt 10 tons of an unknown substance into the river, causing the turquoise water to foam and froth for two days before heavy rains flushed the toxins down to the Adriatic Sea. TKK produces cement and paint products. Their factory is located between the towns of Kobarid and Bovec above the Kreda pool and one of the most popular kayaking and rafting sections.
The Slovenian river conservation NGO Balkan River Defence (BRD) conducted their water samples on the day of the spill because there is a low level of trust in the government and local authorities to provide honest results of their own testing. Fortunately, both test results showed that river water didn’t show high levels of poisons. However, the spill’s effects will only be known in time as the macroinvertebrates and river life respond.
No penalties, fines or punishment have been laid upon the factory for misconduct, and BRD fears there could be another more serious spill as the factory clearly lacks adequate safety measures. If a kayaker doesn’t pay for parking in the Soča Valley, they get a ticket. But no problem if a factory spills 10 tons of chemicals in the river.
The local municipalities have not addressed the concerns of locals and kayakers and would like to brush this environmental disaster under the rug. In response, BRD has launched a call to action asking concerned kayakers and Soča River lovers to express their concern and demand answers by commenting and tagging the municipalities of Kobarid, Bovec and Soudal Group, the owner of TKK, on social media to ensure that local decision-makers feel the pressure and disgust from people who to travel to kayak and enjoy the healthy Soča River. This method of putting international pressure on local municipalities has been effective. The more emails, tags, complaints, comments and conversations are made public, the more we can ensure they feel accountable and ultimately pressure them to take action to ensure this never happens again.
Take action to help the Soča.
Write a message to any of the following decision-makers in the Soča Valley, asking them how this happened, who will take responsibility, why no fines or punishment was issued and how we can be sure this won’t happen again.
Let them know that we are all watching and that they must take better care of the precious Soča River.
