Some regions in Serbia have completely lacked water, while others have faced weeks of water restrictions.
The initiative “Right to Water” highlights that prolonged droughts, declining water levels, and neglected water infrastructure have left dozens of towns and villages without access to clean drinking water. Residents report dried-up wells, cloudy water, burst pipes, and inequities in water distribution.
Serbia is among the European regions most affected by climate change, and inadequate or delayed adaptation measures have worsened the situation. The initiative stresses that responsibility lies mainly with poor planning, underinvestment, lack of enforcement, and flawed political decisions.
Bureaucratic and insufficiently grounded plans fail to address the real needs on the ground. For example, in Donje Brijanje near Leskovac, over 1,000 residents lack a water supply, and most wells have dried up. Rural communities are the first to lose water and the last to regain it, affecting agriculture, livestock, and small gardens.
Water infrastructure in villages suffers from municipal neglect, lack of sanitary protection zones, poor maintenance, and inadequate oversight. Many residents are unaware of water quality, as health inspections are often absent.
The “Right to Water” initiative emphasizes that access to safe drinking water is a basic human right, not a privilege, and calls for immediate investment in infrastructure, source protection, and public, non-profit water management. They continue to monitor water supply issues and encourage residents facing shortages to report them.
