Ninety percent. That is how many of the village water systems in the Ohrid region fall under local community councils - and lack sufficient resources for regular disinfection. That is not an activist's estimate, it is a finding that came out of the institution itself after the latest contamination of the springs in Elshani and Velestovo.

Laboratory analyses by the Centre for Public Health found E. coli and coliform bacteria. A ruling was issued banning the use of the water for drinking and cooking. The local community councils have been instructed to post clear, visible warnings at the public taps.

The cause: septic tanks and livestock above the spring

The Centre for Public Health points to faecal water from nearby septic tanks or livestock facilities seeping down into the water sources. New analyses have been announced, along with a recommendation for systematic chlorination.

So we know what is contaminating it. We know the solution is chlorination. And we know that ninety percent of the systems that need chlorinating have no resources to do it. Three sentences that together describe a state of affairs that is not an incident but a design.

An „isolated case” that keeps repeating across the country

Mayor Kiril Pechakov insists the city water supply remains safe and that this is an isolated problem. Formally - correct. The city network is separate from the village springs.

But that same week, in a completely different part of the country, the same thing happens. In the Strumica villages of Rich and Belotino, analyses by the local Centre for Public Health showed that the water from the spring by the church in Belotino and from the tap in the centre of Rich does not meet the requirements of the water safety regulations. Bacteria indicating faecal contamination were found. Notices went up saying the water must not be drunk.

And it is not the first time for those villages. In February 2024, the Food and Veterinary Agency banned the use of water in Rich, Belotino and three other Strumica villages over insufficient residual chlorine - insufficient disinfection. The agency later announced that the Strumica municipality had not acted on the ruling and launched misdemeanour proceedings.

Two regions, the same diagnosis

Rich sits about 21 kilometres from Strumica, at 509 metres above sea level. Belotino - about 16 kilometres, at 518 metres. People travel up to 25 kilometres to reach the town. These are villages that have spent years fighting for a doctor and for basic services, and now they buy bottled water from that same town.

So far no cases of residents with health problems have been reported. That is good news. But „nobody has fallen ill” is not the same statement as „the water is safe” - it is only a statement that the luck has held so far.

If ninety percent of village water systems in one region have no resources for regular disinfection, then every new ban is not a discovery. It is confirmation that the system is working exactly as it was set up to: wait for an analysis, issue a ban, put up a sign, and wait for the next analysis. Whose job is it to break that circle?