Twenty-two days of faecally contaminated water in the town's mains. Over 5,000 citizens with health problems. An epidemic declared on 19 July, a state of crisis on 21 July, a ban on drinking the water from 17 July. The director of the public utility company and two department heads arrested, suspected of environmental pollution.

The end of that story looked like this: members of the crisis committee stepped out in front of the municipal building and drank water from a public tap.

What was officially said

Stojanče Angelov, head of the Protection and Rescue Directorate and of the main crisis committee, announced that the water in Gostivar is safe to drink after three consecutive samples showed no bacteria. "Yes, at this moment the crisis in Gostivar is over," he said, adding one sentence worth holding on to: "I hope for more responsible management in future, given that what was happening in the water system is unacceptable."

Zudi Džjelili from the local committee explained that the Komunalec utility and the municipal leadership are working to increase the water supply in Gorna and Dolna Banjica, Fazanerija and Ciglana. Instead of two, three analyses will now be carried out per week. The reservoir in Gorna Banjica should be in use soon.

The demand that went unanswered

The opposition SDSM put a question that is hard to brush aside: where is the document?

They are calling on the government to publish the full report and the water analyses. What the results are, which institution carried them out, who signed the report, and whose signature guarantees the water is safe. Their point is that over the past five weeks officials' statements have been varied and contradictory, and that a complete analysis has not once been published publicly.

That demand carries no party colour. After 5,000 sick people, a verbal reassurance is not the same document as a signed finding.

Why a toast from the tap is the wrong instrument

An official drinking water in front of the cameras is an old move and easy to read: look, it's safe. The problem is that the move answers a question of trust with a gesture instead of a piece of paper. If the water really did pass three clean samples - and everything indicates it did - then publishing the finding is easier than organising a press event.

A resident of Gostivar who spent a month boiling water to wash the dishes will not decide to drink from the tap because he saw somebody drinking on television. He will decide when he sees a signature and an institution standing behind it.

And still nobody is accountable

Angelov says the Public Prosecutor's Office and the courts will establish responsibility. Three people have been detained. That is a beginning, not an end.

Twenty-two days of faecal matter in a town's water supply is not an accident, it is a run of checks that were never made. The question left over is not whether the water is clean today - it is what exactly has changed in the system that let this run for three weeks before anybody reacted?