Mladenovac residents struggle with decade-long water crisis: 'Not even for coffee'

For nearly a decade, the residents of Mladenovac, a Belgrade municipality, have grappled with a severe water crisis. Summers are particularly harsh, with water often scarce and, when it does arrive, technically unfit for drinking, bathing, or even making coffee. Sanja Srećković, a local resident, described the situation as dire, noting that the water is often unusable.

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We have no water practically from April to October.

"We have no water practically from April to October," Srećković stated. The community relies on a single water tanker, which is frequently out of service or unable to meet the demand. She explained that even when the tanker fills the local reservoir, the supply is short-lived, often disappearing by evening or early morning.

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We buy water for drinking, of course. I've had water brought to me in large bottles from the city, but that didn't help much because the water in the city center is constantly yellow and dirty.

Neighbor Dragana Jarić echoed these frustrations, detailing how residents scramble to find water. "We buy water for drinking, of course. I've had water brought to me in large bottles from the city, but that didn't help much because the water in the city center is constantly yellow and dirty," she said. Jarić recalled that years ago, residents paid for independent water quality tests, which confirmed the water was technical-grade, a fact briefly acknowledged on bills before being removed without any reduction in charges.

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Besides us, as a people, receiving criticism for wasting water, which is not true because we don't have it in the first place, they tell us nothing else.

Residents are exasperated by unfulfilled promises of new wells and infrastructure upgrades, including the replacement of old asbestos pipes. Talk of a regional water supply system, Makiš-Mladenovac, offers little immediate hope. "Besides us, as a people, receiving criticism for wasting water, which is not true because we don't have it in the first place, they tell us nothing else," Srećković lamented. The ongoing lack of reliable, safe water forces residents to purchase bottled water while continuing to pay for a service they are not receiving.

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The water is faulty, totally. I don't even know if it's, honestly, for bathing anymore. It's not for drinking, we've been buying water for years, and we pay the bills.