Water Rights Initiative Receives 293 Reports of Supply Problems Across Serbia

A Serbian water-rights initiative received 293 complaints from 162 places during the three summer months, highlighting how water shortages are spreading across the country.

Pravo na vodu said the reports came from 87 municipalities. Residents identified drought and drying water sources as the main cause in 77.8% of cases. Network works and breakdowns accounted for 15.4%, while in 6.8% of cases people said they did not know why their water had disappeared without warning.

The initiative said residents were clearly identifying systemic weaknesses. These included worn-out distribution networks, a lack of primary water infrastructure and a sharp summer decline in groundwater levels in private wells.

Pravo na vodu also warned that Serbia lies in a region warming faster than the global average. Climate change is bringing more frequent and longer periods of drought, higher temperatures and extreme rainfall, which cannot make up for prolonged water shortages.

“Serbia still has water, but it is increasingly clear that it will not be available in the same quantities, in the same places or at the same time as today,” the initiative said.

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Serbia still has water, but it is increasingly clear that it will not be available in the same quantities, in the same places or at the same time as today.