Serbia struggles with access to clean drinking water

In Serbia, only 55% of the population is connected to a sewerage system, most of which were built more than 30 years ago and use outdated technologies. Regarding wastewater infrastructure, Serbia belongs to the group of medium-developed countries, while in terms of wastewater treatment, it is at the very bottom. A total of 47 cities and municipalities have wastewater treatment plants, of which 26 are in operation, two are under reconstruction, and five are in trial operation.

These are not the only problems faced by the population of Serbia when it comes to water, and Žaklina Živković and Strahinja Macić, activists of the “Right to Water” initiative who spoke to EURACTIV. While Serbia has a Law on water, its implementation is problematic ‐ a situation that does not bode well with the EU’s accession demands that call for large reforms in water management and significantly higher budgets for this area.

Rivers in flat parts of the country are the most polluted because of the large quantities of industrial, communal and mining waste water. On the other hand, rivers in areas with mountains or hills are affected by the construction of mini hydro power plants. Like many parts of the world, Serbia is facing an unusually hot summer, and Živković stresses the importance of access to clean drinking water.

Source: Euractiv