Water u Zrenjanin is correct, said the mayor of that city, Simo Salapura, on Friday (October 10).
He told reporters that after more than 21 years, "Zrenjanin has proper drinking water, absolutely safe and in accordance with all rules and regulations" and drank a glass of water in front of the cameras.
However, the residents of this city whom "Vreme" talked to before the conference were not convinced by the mayor's words previously announced on Facebook.
The news was previously published on social networks on Thursday evening, so they believe that such a way of communication is not appropriate for such a serious problem.
Even after the mayor's official address at the press conference, Zoran Dedić from Zrenjan does not believe in the correctness of the water.
"Who is afraid of a snake biting a lizard. They have been promising us water since 2015, I don't see now that it was said that any of the independent experts did an analysis, the mayor drank the water, but how do I know they didn't pour the bottled water", says Dedić right after the information about the quality of the water was published on the city's website.
As he adds, he can see from the photos that the number of media was limited, and that everyone was standing at the conference.
"There are no names of independent experts in the announcement. I will not give the water to my grandchildren, nor will I use it for cooking," says this pensioner.
What did the mayor say?
The mayor of Zrenjanin announced at the press conference that since May 22, monitoring of the water supply network has been ongoing, and that on that day healthy drinking water left the water factory.
"Hundreds of analyzes have been carried out and in the past few days the conditions have been created for our competent Public Utility Company Water and Sewerage to submit a request to the competent sanitary inspector to revoke the decision that introduced the ban on drinking water. The drinking water in Zrenjanin is correct, safe for use, for cooking, more precisely, it is allowed for everything for which it was prohibited until now," he said.
As he added, this is a historic day for Zrenjanin.
The previous day, he announced on Facebook that on Thursday, October 9, a decision was made canceling the ban on the use of water adopted in 2004.
In the announcement, he attached the decision of the Sanitary Inspection Department of the Provincial Secretariat for Health, which was signed by the sanitary inspector from Zrenjanin, Gabriela Lodi.
In the explanation of the decision, it is written that on October 9, PUK "Vodovod i Kanalizacija" submitted a request to invalidate the previous decision, and it was done on the same day.
The company submitted in the attachment the reports of the Zrenjanin Institute of Public Health on the examination of samples of purified drinking water from the central water supply network, which were sampled on September 29, as well as on October 1 and 3, at 12 places in the city.
That the Public Service Commission health carried out the inspection, they confirm for "Vreme" in that institution.
The Sanitary Inspection in Zrenjanin told "Vreme" that they do not have the authority to provide any information and that the Provincial Secretariat for Health is in charge.
The Provincial Secretariat for Health did not respond to questions about the quality of the water until the publication of this text.
"I will not give that water to my grandchildren"
Zoran Dedić, a resident of Zrenjanin, tells "Vreme" that he first read the news about the quality of the water on what he claims is a pro-regime local portal, after which the mayor published the information on Facebook.
"That portal stated that it has unofficial knowledge that the water is correct. They did not provide any official information. Afterwards, the mayor spoke to congratulate the citizens and attached that solution as an argument, and there is nothing else," Dedić said before the conference was held.
Even after the conference and the official announcement, he is not convinced that the water can be used for drinking.
"I will not give it to my grandchildren. My wife and I will not cook food with that water, regardless of what he claims the water is correct. I will not because we have no arguments to confirm by independent experts and people whose jobs do not depend on the mayor."
"I wouldn't dare drink that water"
Even Srđan Matić, a resident of Zrenjanin, is not ready to drink water from the tap.
"I do not believe this information and I am not ready to taste the water. It is cleaner than before, it has been mechanically purified, but as far as the chemical integrity is concerned, I still do not believe that it has been improved, I also doubt the bacterial integrity."
He comments on the mayor's initial announcement about what he says is such important information for the people of Zrenjan as frivolous.
"What was published was at the level of an influencer, not at the level of a mayor running a city. The news release was frivolous, and considering the whole situation, the question is how much we can trust them."
Water quality survey
A survey was also launched on the local portal Zrenjaninski, and according to the current results, about a quarter of respondents do not believe that the water is correct. So far, more than a thousand readers of that portal have voted.
In the previous hours, when the number of respondents was about 500 fewer, about half of the respondents did not believe in the correctness of the water. The number of respondents in this survey increased by more than 100 in ten minutes while this text was being written, and there are more and more people who state that they believe in the correctness of the water.
Better quality than before 2004.
Dedić believes that the water is of better quality than before 2004, when its use was prohibited due to the increased concentration of arsenic.
"Perhaps it is better in terms of physical, chemical and biological properties than it was in 2004, but that does not end our dilemma. Our dilemma is still how much that water will cost. Also, continuous monitoring of the quality is needed, because if the water at the source is bad, they will certainly not have time to tell me not to use it, until I know for myself when I drink the first glass, cook the first soup."
Colorless water since May
As of May 2025, the water in Zrenjanin no longer has color, since a water purification plant was put into trial operation at that time.
"It was a bit strange at the beginning. You draw water at the cistern, it turns white, it's no longer yellow. You wash yourself, but the water has no color. The water is no longer yellow", this is how he described everyday life for "Vreme" at the end of May Zrenjanin Milan Lukic.
This 62-year-old rarely had the opportunity to in the city where he lives Pour water from the tap. which is not yellow, since the problem of water supply in Zrenjanin, a city in the north of Serbia, has been going on for decades.
Since 2004, when an elevated level of arsenic was found in the drinking water in Zrenjanin, the taps in the houses and yards of this municipality were mostly closed, and the water from them could only be used for technical purposes.
In May 2025, tap water is colorless again, but until now it was forbidden to drink.
This October, "Vreme" celebrates and honors - as much as 35 percent discount for our 35th birthday! Valid for semi-annual and annual subscriptions. Subscribe now!
