DTD Water Withdrawal Ban: What It Means for Backa
The Provincial Emergency Situations Staff has banned water withdrawal from the Danube-Tisa-Danube hydro system in the South Backa, North Backa and West Backa districts. Bezdan 2 measured minus 164.
Can anyone still draw water from the canal network in Backa? No, not a single user, for any purpose. On August 3, the Provincial Emergency Situations Staff banned water withdrawal from the Danube-Tisa-Danube hydro system for every user of the system across the territory of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina.
The ban covers the Backa section of the hydro system, meaning three administrative districts:
- South Backa
- North Backa
- West Backa
The decision was made at an emergency session chaired by Maja Gojkovic, president of the Provincial Government, after the Staff reviewed a report from the public water company Vode Vojvodine on works at water intakes serving the Backa part of the system.
How low is the Danube at Bezdan?
At the Bezdan 2 pumping station, the water level that day was measured at minus 164 centimeters. According to the forecast from the Republic Hydrometeorological Service, the level will keep falling through Friday.
A comparison with the previous week shows how fast this is moving. When the Provincial Staff declared a state of emergency in Sombor and the municipalities of Kula and Vrbas on July 29, the water level stood at minus 127 centimeters. In five days, the river dropped another 37 centimeters.
When we reported on a reading of minus 139 centimeters, the river was just four centimeters away from the record set in 1909. Now the Danube is being described as being at a historic low.
What was done before the ban
Alongside the state of emergency declared on July 29, the Provincial Government directed 270 million dinars to Vode Vojvodine for urgent work on the hydro system, mostly on irrigation infrastructure. That money went toward simply getting water to the canals at all. The ban that followed five days later shows there is no longer enough water even for a basic operating regime.
On that same day, August 3, the Republic Staff for Emergency Situations also met in Belgrade, at the initiative of Prime Minister Djuro Macut. We covered the conclusions of that meeting in a separate article.
Who does the ban affect
The measure applies to every user of the system in the three listed districts, with no exceptions for particular activities. No end date has been announced, and the Republic Hydrometeorological Service forecast indicates the level will not rise before the end of the work week.
The state of emergency in Sombor, Kula and Vrbas, declared five days earlier, is still in effect. The DTD withdrawal ban now extends across the entire Backa part of the system, so the measure also covers municipalities where no state of emergency has been declared.
One distinction matters here: the Provincial Staff’s decision concerns the hydro system, not municipal water supply. If you live in Novi Sad, Sombor or Subotica, this is not a ruling about your tap.
The ban arrived in the middle of irrigation season and a prolonged heat wave, at the point in the year when demand for water on the plain is at its highest. That is why the Republic Staff appealed to citizens, local governments and businesses to use electricity and water rationally, with particular emphasis on irrigation water.
What is and isn’t allowed
- Water cannot be withdrawn from the DTD canal in the South Backa, North Backa and West Backa districts, whether for irrigation or any other purpose.
- The decision does not apply to municipal water supply or its delivery schedule.
- Authorities are asking for rational use of water and electricity, with emphasis on irrigation.
For vegetable and fruit growers in Backa, this is close to the worst possible timing, since August is the month when watering determines the harvest. For everyone else, the message is simpler. The next reading at Bezdan is expected to come in lower than this one, and the Staff’s decisions in the coming days will hinge on that number.
