IWRS participates in the CRP project “Our food, countryside and natural resources in 2022”.
Slovenia is a land of water. With over 26 thousand kilometres of rivers and torrents, the country prides itself as one of the more dense hydrographical networks in the world. On average, each square kilometre of land in Slovenia has 1.3 kilometres of surface watercourses. It poses some 1300 natural and artificial lakes, a sea, springs, waterfalls and extensive areas of groundwater. As one of Slovenia’s greatest treasures, water must be managed carefully. Water has an environmental, economic, social and cultural significance. Water resource management is a modern, socially-beneficial and environmentally-sound activity. For this reason, we treat all water-related development initiatives and activities equally and comprehensively.
Manca Čarman
Director of the Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia
Mission of the Institute
From high tide to low tide, from waves to depths, from silence to noise, from pollution to purity, from streams to rivers, from lakes to dams, from status of life to life preservation, from navigation to energy, from status regulation to status determination, from profession to science, from development to administrative procedure – all of these are part of our work and care, our knowledge and pride and our occupation and life.
We know how to manage the sea and fresh waters. We give waters freedom, managing them in a friendly and sustainable manner. We advise and plan, assist and determine, study and develop – for permanent access to quality water. The staff of the Institute for Water have been incorporating their know-how into international water-related solutions for a number of years through projects and commissions. We introduce into the Slovenian environment the latest findings and knowledge from around the world and the European Union. We are the ones shaping the future of our waters. We operate as a development partner of the institutions, the economy and the local environment. Every day, we create with the aim of ensuring the good status of water.
Vision of the Institute
The Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia (IWRS) will remain the leading applied research and advisory institution in the area of integrated water management and the common European water policy in the Republic of Slovenia and will connect related institutions and organisations even more closely for the purpose of sustainable water management.
We know that every development initiative related to water needs to be treated comprehensively to be able to find a solution that satisfies the client to the greatest extent possible while taking into account the protective aspects of the aquatic environment, our services and solutions are the result of addressing problems comprehensively from a technical, environmental and economic viewpoint, which consequently makes them feasible.
In the area of Central Europe, the IWRS will be one of the leading institutions for sustainable water management, designing applied solutions for water resource management, use, watercourse management and water protection. It will employ top experts in individual specialised fields of profession, promote established and innovative scientific and professional-research approaches and aim for service excellence. The IWRS will share and transfer new skills and experience to individuals and similar organisations at national and international levels.
Besides the implementation of tasks within the traditional and established fields of work, the Institute will expand its activities mainly in the fields of engineering services, in the process of preparation and implementation of projects and consultancy services for flood protection, drinking water supply and waste water collection and treatment at the national and international levels.