Four villages in the Strumica area have had no drinking water since yesterday. Not because of a burst pipe, not because of drought - but because an emergency inspection found contamination with bacteria that indicate faecal pollution.

The ban covers Rič, Popčevo, Belotino and Veljusa. The decision was issued by the Food and Veterinary Agency, and the Municipality of Strumica announced it this afternoon.

"The decision was issued by the Agency on the basis of the emergency inspection, during which an absence of residual chlorine and contamination with bacteria - indicators of faecal pollution - were established," the municipal statement says.

The two findings travel together, and that is no coincidence

An absence of residual chlorine means the chlorination was not working, or was not sufficient. Faecal indicators mean something got into the water supply that must never get in. One enables the other: chlorine exists precisely to neutralise the bacteria that occasionally breach the system. When it is missing, the breach becomes visible in a lab result, and not any earlier.

The ban is not limited to drinking. The water must not be used as an ingredient, in contact with food, or for serving in restaurants and public institutions. Which means that until further notice, in four settlements the kitchens are running on other water, or not running at all.

The Municipality of Strumica is urging residents to follow the decision strictly until the authorities confirm the water is safe again.

The question the statement does not ask

One piece of information is missing from the announcement: how long this has been going on. An emergency inspection does not happen without a reason - somebody reported something, or somebody noticed something. Whether the chlorine was missing for a day, a week or a month is the difference between a technical lapse and something else.

Residual chlorine is a parameter measured regularly, not once a year. If the routine measurements had caught the drop in time, the emergency inspection would not have had to be an emergency.

The ban stays in force until the water is confirmed safe.