Unsafe water at five fountains around Gevgelija: a water supply system is on the list too, but the municipality only talks about natural springs

Five fountains around Gevgelija now have a sign instead of drinking water. The Municipality of Gevgelija banned the water for drinking after lab tests by the Veles Public Health Centre showed microbiological and physico-chemical deviations from the Rulebook on the safety and quality of drinking water. The signs say it briefly: the water is not safe to drink.

The ban covers the natural fountain Murdževa in Negorci, the Katerina memorial fountain in Konsko, the natural roadside fountain in Staro Konsko, the natural mineral fountain in Smrdliva Voda - and the water from the water supply system in Smrdliva Voda.

That last line is the most important one, and the statement skirts around it. The municipality reassures people that the water from the natural fountains comes from natural springs and isn't part of the system that supplies households. Fine. But a water supply system is on the list too. Whether people drink from that system at home, how many households are affected and since when the water has been unsafe - not a word.

The municipal utility service and the environmental inspectorate have put up warnings and announced measures to remove possible sources of contamination, along with disinfection. It's the standard sequence: first a sign, then an appeal, then "measures will be taken". But when tests show microbiological deviations in water that people drink, the residents of these villages deserve more than a sign on a stone - they deserve to know when the water will be safe again and what contaminated it.