LocationsDecades-long water supply issue for Babanovac and Maćino brdo residents near Prnjavor finally resolved
September 25, 2024
Lata Polovina
Katarina Bilous has lived in the village of Babanovac near Prnjavor for 54 years, during which she has faced ongoing water issues. This long struggle made her one of the most active advocates for connecting the village to the city’s water supply network. Her problems, along with those of the residents of the local communities of Babanovac and part of Maćino brdo, will finally be resolved through the construction of a water supply network as part of the Municipal Environmental Governance Project (MEG2), jointly funded by Sweden, the Government of Switzerland, the Government of the Czech Republic, and the European Union, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in BiH.
Katarina Bilous
“I used to have a well that provided enough water for the seven of us in the household. But when more people started moving in and digging their own wells, my water ran out. I was then forced to dig a tank and buy water to fill it, or transport it in canisters. All of that was quite expensive, and it became harder and harder for me. I also have access to water from the village network, but for the last 20 years, the pressure has been almost nonexistent."Katarina Bilous
Until all the work on her household connection is completed, Katarina was first connected to the city water supply via a faucet in her yard:
“This will mean so much to me! I was thrilled the other day when I turned on the faucet and washed my face with municipal water!”
I’m living a normal life
Lata Polovina moved to Babanovac 25 years ago and was connected to the local village water supply, but she says there was more time without water than when she could actually use it:
“And so we have been struggling for 25 years. There were times when we had no water for five or six days, so we had to manage by collecting water and going to a spring a couple of kilometers away. Sometimes, there’s only a trickle from the faucet under the house, so we catch whatever we can in containers, then pour it into the machine to wash, and that's how we managed for bathing and everything else. We constantly asked to have water connected, going and writing requests to the ministry, but we couldn't get water until now,” says Lata Polovina, unable to hide her satisfaction.
“I have had water for eight days now; it’s fantastic and couldn’t be better, I’m so happy! There is a constant water supply, the pressure is good, I can take baths, the washing machine works, and when my children come to visit on the weekends, they have water. I’m living a normal life.”
So that my Rajko no longer has to go to the well
Rajko Jović says he had water from the well he built when he constructed his house, right after moving in with his wife, Ljeposava.
Ljeposava i Rajko Jović
“We fled from Maglaj. Here, we bought plots and repaired our houses. We didn’t have water, as we were not allowed to connect to the village water supply. Until we finished the well, I was buying water; every morning, a man from Velika Ilova brought me 3,000 liters with his tractor.”Rajko Jović
Rajko adds that lately, it has become increasingly difficult for him to go down into the well when repairs to the pump or other work are needed:
“Until now, I used the well, and there was water, but connecting to the municipal water supply is a significant improvement for us. Before, there were always malfunctions with the pump, and I had to go into the well, which has become a big problem for me at 73 years old; I can no longer climb down into the well.”
His wife, Ljeposava, is also happy about the arrival of municipal water to their village and their home:
“Municipal water means a lot to us; it means life! So that my Rajko doesn’t have to go to the well anymore; he can’t handle working on those pumps when something breaks down. The pressure is better now than before; when I water the flowers, I only need to turn it on halfway!”
Possibility of Connection for 500 Households
The director of the Public Utility Company “Vodovod” Prnjavor, Ljubiša Sibinčić, states that the construction of the water supply network will allow around 500 households in Babanovac and Maćino brdo to connect to the city water supply and have access to quality, health-tested water. This has not been the case until now:
Ljubiša Sibinčić
"Citizens had their local water supply, and this village system had about 250 users on its list, but that number kept growing, leading to problems. There was an enormous number of people on the network, the climate was changing, and they often found themselves without water. Additionally, the system was outdated, with significant losses, and the consensus was that it couldn’t simply be connected to the city water supply; a complete reconstruction was necessary. The system had not been maintained, and the water was not adequately monitored.”Ljubiša Sibinčić
Sibinčić adds that they are pleased with the citizens' interest in connecting to the water supply. At the time of the conversation, 93 requests for connection had been submitted, and 28 connections had already been made.
Partnerships in focus
“Priority is given to those who have no water at all or have very low pressure, while those with their own tanks and a more stable situation will likely apply last. Some residents living in lower areas connected to the city water supply earlier, and there will likely be reconnections to ensure a more orderly and reliable supply. In 40 households, water has never been available before, and we have informed them first to submit their requests so that we can connect them as soon as possible and resolve their issues,” says Ljubiša Sibinčić, adding that, besides the citizens, the MEG project has also positively impacted the utility company itself.
“Through the MEG project, we have established a customer relations service, regularly conducting surveys, notifications, and all possible forms of communication with consumers. Communication with the City has also improved; we now have established official relationships through signed contracts. There is better understanding and collaboration. Awareness has changed, and partnership relations have been prioritized.”
Establishment and improvement of the system
Alongside the infrastructural component, the Mayor of Prnjavor, Darko Tomaš, emphasizes the establishment and enhancement of the system:
Darko Tomaš
“Prnjavor has been involved in this project from the beginning, and I can say we haven't had a better or more effective project than this one. It is especially important that the project was based on our results, valuing the contributions and achievements we made, which motivated us to compete with other local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also allowed us to identify our weaknesses and see what we could improve through the exchange of best practices from other local communities participating in the project. In the latest evaluation, the City of Prnjavor achieved first place among all the older local communities, and it’s particularly significant that our progress was assessed at 100 percent.”Darko Tomaš
Tomaš adds that he believes significant progress has been made through all activities:
“As a result of everything, citizens want to see infrastructural projects, but for us, it’s equally important to focus on what came before. By setting conditions for ourselves, we created a system that is currently functioning in the City of Prnjavor, which has primarily shown results in the Water Utility Company, positioning them at the forefront. Both they and we have understood where the mistakes were, where the problems are, and what needs to be done,” he says, highlighting the established relationship between the city and the utility company, “in the sense that every service must be based on economic pricing, and someone has to cover the cost.”
“If the end user cannot cover the costs, then the City will step in, and we have established such a system for all those who are clients of the Social Work Center in Prnjavor, for whom we finance a certain amount of utility consumption, in this case, water. However, this system needs to be implemented for other services as well, such as waste collection and other utility services. This benefit is certainly one of the greatest advantages we have gained thanks to this project.”
Valuable infrastructural projects for citizens
Mayor Tomaš emphasizes that, in the end, citizens have received what is most important to them—valuable infrastructural projects:
“First, we undertook the rehabilitation of the water supply and sewage network in Vida Nježića Street, the longest street in the city, which would not have been possible without the support of the MEG project; in this context, the initial grant funding was crucial. In addition to reconstructing the water supply and sewage system, which was as old as Prnjavor itself, investments in economic capacities have been important, leading to overall satisfaction among both entrepreneurs and the workers employed in those companies. One project focused on additional employment in the economy, while another targeted the procurement of equipment and machinery for specific economic entities. A very significant project was the construction of a water supply system in the Bijaka business zone, where we now have 17 new businesses. In this way, we addressed the water supply in that area, but the special benefit is that this network will also provide a solution for the water supply of the Štrbci Local Community, which is the largest community in Prnjavor.”
Kad je u pitanju MEG2, gradonačelnik Tomaš ističe kako je posebno zadovoljan što su inicijalna bespovratna sredstva ostvarena kroz Projekat, uz učešće Grada Prijedora, upotrijebljena upravo za snabdjevanje vodom kroz gradnju novog vodovodnog sistema Mjesne zajednice Babanovci i dijelom Maćino brdo:
“Izgrađeno je oko 11 kilometara vodovodne mreže na koju se potencijalno može priključiti oko 500 domaćinstava. Ljudi su imali privatni vodovod koji nije bio zadovoljavajući ni kapacitetom, kao ni kvalitetom mreže, i mislim da smo im ovim riješili višedecenijski problem. Bez inicijalnih sredstava MEG projekta za krupne stvari kao što su spomenuta četiri projekta oni bi i danas bili na čekanju”.
Vezani
sadržaj
sadržaj
