There is a shortage of water throughout the country, and as "Vreme" investigates, there are often burst pipes, breakdowns in water supply networks and other problems for which the institutions are responsible. However, how responsible are we as a society for the current situation, i.e. the careless consumption of water?
The tropical temperatures that hit Serbia also had an effect on increased water consumption. There is no water all over the country, and how "Time" investigates burst pipes, breakdowns in water supply networks and other problems are also common. The reasons given by the institutions for the water shortage are old pipes and water networks that are half a century old.
That we consume more than the civilized countries of Western civilization and that we are not aware of the consequences at all, Dejan Lekić from the National Ecological Association tells Vreme, who points out that "we wash the streets with drinking water, we do not purify Wastewater and we reuse some part of that waste water for some of the purposes that are possible".
He adds that it is necessary to make citizens aware that the water produced in drinking water factories is not used for watering the garden, just as it is not used for washing the streets.
Negligence of the state breeds negligence of citizens
The problem, he says, is that the system itself is not able to react and that then citizens are not expected to be environmentally considerate either.
"You have a whole series of locations in Belgrade that have been posting pictures on the networks for months that some water pipe is leaking and nothing is happening", explains Lukić and adds that maybe the institutions want to help and fix the malfunctions, but they probably don't have enough economic and human resources.
"When a citizen sees the negligence of the state, he behaves in the same way and thinks in the way of 'let me provide for myself, and we will see the rest tomorrow,'" says Lekić.
Apart from reckless use of water, there are also springs. There is also a certain number of reservoirs that are intended for water supply, which we do not care about. One of the examples is Kragujevac, where, according to the interlocutor of "Vremena", the director of the Kragujevac waterworks appeals not to build hotels on water springs.
"It's not a matter of appeal, it's a matter of law enforcement." There is a whole series of indicators that say that we neither treat it like normal people, nor are we interested in it", emphasizes Lukić.
There is a plan, but action is lacking
The current situation with drinking water was recognized back in 2019 in a document entitled "Specific implementation plan for Council Directive 98/83/EC on the quality of water intended for human consumption", as part of the Annex to chapter 27, which deals with environmental problems and climate change.
The document states that most public water supply systems managed by PUC have adequate chlorination systems, while small utility units are challenged with inadequate operation or absence of chlorination. There are 69 drinking water treatment plants serving 70 percent of the population.
This document, explains Lekić, is the state's personal position addressed to the European Union, which shows that the problem has been noticed, but its implementation is lacking.
We are waiting for someone else to solve the problem
"We are waiting for someone else to solve it." We are aware of the problem, but we do not find a critical mass of people, knowledge, ability and enthusiasm to do something", he explains.
The directive also mentions the lack of sanitary protection of springs, non-compliance of water quality due to inadequate treatment of raw water, as well as lack of treatment due to water supply interruptions due to deficit or lack of storage capacity.
It also points to the poor maintenance of the water supply system and water treatment plant. Purification of waste water, preservation of groundwater, as well as their use for public water supply, technological use and irrigation of agricultural land were mentioned as types of measures.
One of the solutions that Lekić points to are swimming pools, which are built in large cities in order to retain rain that can be used to wash streets, water parks and for other purposes. As he explains, the current water situation is also a consequence of climate change, as indicated by various studies and research by the European Environmental Protection Agency, but a lot of it is also up to us.
Is there capacity for change?
When looking at the environment, the trend is seen whether something is improving, staying the same or getting worse.
In this particular case, emphasizes Lekić, we see it getting worse and continues with the question: "Do we still have the capacity as citizens to deal with something a little more complex, or are we reduced to shopping mall consumers?"
While there is a popular narrative among the people that he expresses what he will not, referring to the initiative against lithium mining, which he personally supports, Lekić emphasizes that "the environment requires you to say what you want, but then to work on it."
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