People in eastern Slavonia have always used wells. During the Homeland War these important sources of water had been contaminated. In 1997 local Red Cross branches in the cities of Beli Manastir, Valpovo, Vukovar, Vinkovci and Daruvar established water well cleaning teams that have been active ever since.

Teams need at least two days for purification and sanitation. After draining the water, cleaning the well bottom and disinfection, new water is released to fill the well. In addition to having a bad odour, and taste, well water may be contaminated by a variety of nitrates and bacteria. All water of uncertain purity should be treated before use.

800 wells per year have been cleaned so far. Well water continues to be valuable as ever during draughts and high temperatures. It can be useful source of water for animals and plants.

Only authorized county laboratories of Public Health Institute can issue a certificate of water purity. Croatian Red Cross teams can use their equipment to discern the amount of nitrates in water. Team treats the water with chlorine bleach but only up to allowed 1 milligram per litre. For this reason well owners are not recommended to do that by themselves. Our experts always warn the well owners of the importance of making regular purity checks of water and keeping the ground surrounding the well clean.