On the Water Crisis in Sarajevo
When a city of hundreds of thousands of people, a capital seat of Bosnia, endures its worst heatwave season to the point that water levels become critical that cuts are being implemented on a daily basis and people are forced to adapt to the newfound crisis-level environment that reeks of the siege from the 1990s, and when said measures aren’t effective and more deep and unsettling revelations expose an aging ineffective pipeline system with a tremendous deficit to the point that a city needs a Hail Mary or it will go without water for up to 24 hours, it only begs the question as to who could we really trust and when will this suffering end once and for all.
Sarajevo’s water supply cuts weren’t the first this year as these measures were implemented similarly in 2024 without any issues when Sarajevo endured a near record-breaking heatwave. As the city enters its third month with night-time water supply cuts with constant reminders from the ViK (Vodovod i Kanalizacija) about being “patient” while also showing horrible results no matter the regulations, it only is fair that such prolonged crisis and the inability to combat such irregularity isn’t just worthy only for local news media, but a more international broadcast, a cautionary tale on how incompetence led to the worst ever water supply crisis in 21st century history and the worst chapter in Sarajevo since 1992.
THE DROUGHT OF AUGUST
The earliest insight to the critical water supply level in Sarajevo dates back to August 14th, 2026 when ViK notified citizens in Sarajevo, instructing them not to irrationally consume water, considering to cut down on water supply on areas with the highest consumption of water. This was at the time when Sarajevo was suffering a very dry August. The earliest water supply cut was conducted on August 9th for a small portion of the city at the time (Vratnik, Obhodža, Škaljin Sokak, Streljačka, Brusulje, Nova Baruthana). On August 15th, ViK for the first time introduced both day-time and night-time supply cuts, although still at the time for a portion of the city.
As Mošćanica and Crnil springs were suffering a drought in the heatwave, the situation worsened as ViK formed patrol teams to inspect water consumption and to cut down water supply on those with higher levels. The reaction wasn’t pleasant. Selma Pršeš criticized the decision, pointing out on water leaking down the streets of Buća Potok for months even. Locals from the Rudnik neighborhood complained about not having water for three days straight, not even having seen a water cistern truck while ViK continued to observe irrational consumption (being mostly used for gardening, cleaning up a street, and filling pools) of water despite the enforced measures.
THE WATER SUPPLY CUTS BEGIN, BUT ISSUES PERSIST
On August 30th, 2026, a day which will live in the memory of Sarajevo, the entire city would become subject not to a temporary regime but to a prolonged series of daily water supply cuts, whether by day and whether by night. While new day-time and night-time cuts were introduced by ViK, no one thought on the sheer length it would last to the point that even in November, despite the cold weather, citizens still can’t enjoy normal water supply. Despite this, issues persisted. In the Trg Heroja, it was reported that water was leaking and ViK was notified 20 times about the problem that they claimed to have “fixed” despite the persistence.
As September arrived, the water levels remained critical with information for the first time showing that. In Bačevo (which provides water to 400,000 people), water was only 12 centimeters above the critical level while Mošćanica dropped from 100 liters to only 37 liters as a result of the heatwave and drought. According to ViK, it would take weeks of raining in order for water levels to return to normal, showing the amount of damage done by the heatwave and the drought. Meanwhile, Jarčedoli reported not having received water for five days in a row and only had a water cistern truck visit them once. The citizens were now worrying.
AND THEN OCTOBER….
In October it was revealed that water supply loss was major for Sarajevo over the past 10 years with losses recorded above 70%, the highest being 74% in 2024. Sarajevo had the highest loss of water supply in comparison to Tuzla (37%) and Zenica (28%). The millions of KM that are being poured into have seemingly done nothing to solve or address the water supply. Some slight improvement was noted when on October 13th, 2026, ViK ended its day-time supply cuts, resorting only to night-time water supply cuts up to 6:00 AM in the morning.
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On October 16th, ViK attempted to also end the night-time cuts, which would have ended the two-month long crisis, had it not been for a fact that major problems were still yet to be solved and thus the ViK reintroducing the cuts the day after.
THE REALITY REVEALED
A comparison published in October 2026 revealed that Sarajevo had the highest water supply loss in comparison to European cities. The 70% loss was higher than Tirana’s 68% loss in 2015 and Sofia’s 45% loss in 2019. Copenhagen, despite its one-fifth of the pipeline being over 100 years, recorded only 5.6% loss in 2019 compared to Sarajevo. Despite ViK trying to compare its restrictions to other European cities, it only exposed more wrongs about ViK. While Munich fined citizens for irregularly consuming water, Sarajevo’s citizens were dried of water as punishment.
Between August 5th and October 20th, Sarajevo was specially cut off from water supply 35 times, the highest being in October (10 times), and second highest in September (8 times). The local media commented that ViK “scored an own goal” (Preduzeće ViK vrijeđa inteligenciju građana: Uporedili se s Evropom i zabili sebi autogol).
While other European cities noted declining percentage in losses, Sarajevo consistently remained above 70% for 10 years, far worse than Tirana’s 68% in 2015. Sarajevo rivals Athens in terms of the severity of the water supply issue. On October 29th, Nusret Drešković commented that Sarajevo would go out without water for 24 hours if it didn’t snow in Bjelašnica.
HOW DID THE GOVERNMENT REACT?
No emergency meetings were held in regards to the water supply issue in Sarajevo. On September 2nd, the ministry noted that water supply was “stable” despite a cut introduced by ViK the day after. Elvedin Okerić, a speaker to the assembly of Kanton Sarajevo, claimed that water supply would have been stable if prices were raised but the plan was obstructed by the opposition on which he blames at. The mayor of the Ilidža municipality, Nermin Muzur, supported the local citizens who pressured the ViK to seek for alternatives without success. He also added that Mladen Pandurević should get busy with the water supply and create a plan for sanation of the aging pipeline as well as to deal with illegal subjects themselves and not the people as a whole.
On October 30th, 2026, the ministry said that ViK did not have an official goal in reducing the water supply loss and that a federal law is needed for this but hasn’t been yet implemented. The 2026 budget estimated that 8 million KM was needed to properly fix the water supply issue of which 3.5 million was to go towards the water supply losses. Pandurević estimated that the 1,500 kilometers of the pipeline required 750 million KM as more than 700 kilometers were in a bad condition.
WHEN WILL IT END?
As doubt diminished any hope for a torrential rain that would have spared the city of its worst fate, the only natural option is if it were to snow on the mountains. But even then, if after many months, water supply is no longer cut on a daily basis, it will only happen again. This isn’t the last time Sarajevo will be deprived from water like this. For years it had consistently recorded losses above 70% for its water supply, higher than any European city in comparison, bringing nothing but shame and fear to its people.
The year 2026 is a warning of the future consequences that will strike more harshly if Sarajevo does not do something about the water supply. The incompetence of ViK, the lack of combat against those who irrationally consume water at the expense of the many who are deprived of it by ViK themselves, the lack of government agenda over the years to combat the losses and go below 70%, are all major non-natural factors that threaten the city of Sarajevo, the central hub of Bosnia, the capital of Bosnia. If we retain this incompetence, we will one day enter a future in which Sarajevo is dry 24/7 and the only way to get water is from cistern trucks or to fight for your life. It will only be 1992 all over again.
