Pursuant to the Water Act (Official Gazette, 66/19., 84/21., 47/23.), the Main Laboratory for Water has been designated as the official laboratory for sample collection and analysis within the framework of monitoring and other official water controls. The primary task of the Main Laboratory for Water is to provide reliable data and objective analyses on water quality status. The Main Laboratory for Water coordinates and consolidates the analysis results, monitors surface inland waters in northern, central, and eastern Croatia, Istria, and Dalmatia, as well as on transboundary watercourses, and conducts monitoring of biological indicators throughout Croatia.
The laboratory carries out a wide range of tasks related to monitoring water quality, pollutants, and wastewater, including: fieldwork for sampling and laboratory analysis of samples, quality control of results from other laboratories for the needs of the Institute, interventions during emergency and accidental pollution (expert and operational level), data collection, systematisation, processing, and translating data into actionable information. The Main Laboratory for Water is also engaged in identifying unknown hazardous substances in water to support updates to national regulations, collaborating with authorised laboratories, universities, research institutions, institutes, and public health institutes.
The Main Laboratory for Water consists of the following departments:
As laboratory activities are closely linked to the application of new scientific insights and analytical advancements associated with state-of-the-art analytical equipment, which features increasingly lower detection limits in order to continuously meet the requirements of the European Commission.