Water Restrictions in Arilje: Tankers and Fines for Watering
Arilje gets about 46 liters of water per second, not enough for peak watering season. Tankers stand in Mirosaljci and Dragojevac, with fines threatened for watering raspberries and filling pools.
Why did Arilje introduce water restrictions now, after the same system worked for years without them? Because the municipality is currently getting only about 46 liters of water per second from the public utility Rzav, an amount that cannot cover demand during peak raspberry and blackberry watering season.
The restrictions were introduced Thursday afternoon by Arilje’s Emergency Situations Staff and took effect Friday, August 7. Seven village settlements are covered. When we first reported on the shutoff schedule, the figure behind the decision wasn’t known yet. Now it is.
“We are getting around 46 liters per second from the public utility Rzav,” said Predrag Maslar, president of the Arilje municipality and commander of the Emergency Situations Staff.
When each village has water
The schedule isn’t the same everywhere, so it’s worth knowing which group your settlement falls into:
- Bogojevici and Latvica, along with the elevated zones and settlements supplied from the Malsko spring: water runs only from 6 to 9 in the morning and from 8 to 10 in the evening
- Virovo, Lopas, Donja Kravarica, Grdovici and Vrane: no water from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The schedule isn’t set in stone. The Staff has said it can change depending on actual consumption and how much water arrives through the Rzav system. Practical advice: fill canisters and tanks as soon as the water starts flowing, not right before the window ends, since pressure in the higher zones drops in the last hour.
Stationary tankers with drinking water have been set up in Mirosaljci and Dragojevac, for households that run short of water during their allotted window.
Why you could get fined
Because stepped up inspections were announced alongside the restrictions. Inspectors are watching for water used outside its intended purpose, which specifically means:
- watering gardens, green areas and agricultural crops
- filling pools and tanks
- washing cars
- hosing down terraces and yards
What stays exempt is what you’d expect: drinking, food preparation and personal hygiene. Maslar says the nighttime shutoffs were introduced precisely because crops get watered most in the evening and at night, which is also when tanks for other consumers refill.
“Unfortunately, I have to say, some irresponsible individuals and residents aren’t doing that, and we’ve announced strict checks and strict penalties,” Maslar said.
To farmers that sounds harsh in the middle of the season, but a raspberry field watered from the municipal supply draws from the same source as the kitchen tap. That’s where the municipality drew the line.
Not just Arilje
The same regional system also supplies Gornji Milanovac, which draws water from the Sevelj intake. There, watering green and agricultural areas, filling pools and tanks, and hosing down sidewalks and yards are all banned. In Zlatibor District, calls to conserve water have also come from Uzice and Prijepolje, without shutoffs so far.
In other words, the pressure isn’t one local water system’s problem, it runs through the entire Rzav network. That’s why Arilje’s schedule is unlikely to ease until the inflow improves, and that depends on rainfall and on how much watering drops.
Our advice for households in the seven Arilje villages: stock up for two days, not one. If the window shifts, and the Staff has explicitly said it can, you’ll lose one filling cycle and only then find out how much water you actually need per day.
