The Kocani municipality sent out a statement late last night that sounds familiar for every Macedonian summer - consumption of drinking water has more than doubled, and restrictions are now being considered. The affected settlements are Orizari, Grdovci, Gornji and Donji Podlog, Trkanje and Mojanci.

The huge jump in consumption is no mystery - in the heat, people use more water, water their gardens, fill pools. But the problem is not in the habits of citizens, but in a system that cannot withstand a summer peak that repeats every year. When something happens every summer, it stops being an emergency and becomes bad planning.

Restrictions are the classic response - instead of expanding or modernising the network, citizens are told to use less. That is easier and cheaper than investment, but it solves nothing in the long run. Next summer will likely bring the same statement, with the same settlements and the same threat of restrictions.

The question for the local government is simple: if consumption on hot days predictably doubles, why is the system not ready for it? Water does not run dry overnight - it runs dry because for years no one invested enough to keep it from running dry. And the citizens will once again pay the bill, this time in half-empty taps.