The pollution on the river Slaná has reached an extreme scale, prompting the Slovak government to declare an emergency in the affected districts.
The emergency applies to three eastern-Slovak districts, Rožňava, Revúca and Rimavská Sobota, as of noon July 20. The government is taking measures to prevent the deterioration of water quality in the area, the Korzár daily reported. The pollution that caused the river to turn orange is due to mining.
President Zuzana Čaputová visited the affected area earlier this week and posted images of the river on her social media profiles, calling it a dead river.
"Due to the pollution, the Slaná is a dead river, decreases the potential of Gemer [region] and complicates the lives of the locals," the president wrote.
Measures need to be taken
