Safe water in Serbia: notices, drought and what to store

Short answer. In its flood guidance, Serbia's national public health institute (Batut) says to listen only to the public health institutes' announcements on drinking water, and to boil water you are unsure of for 5 minutes from the first boil ¹. Phaenyx found no official per-person amount of water to store at home. Well water should be lab-tested several times a year ².

How do I know if my tap water is unsafe?

Phaenyx found no national register of notices that tap water is not fit to drink in Serbia. In its flood guidance, the Institute of Public Health of Serbia "Dr Milan Jovanović Batut" says to follow only the announcements of the public health institutes about the state of drinking water and whether it is safe ¹. For any information, it sends people to their nearest public health institute ¹. How official warnings reach you is on our Serbia alerts page.

What Batut advises for drinking water during floods ¹:

• use only hygienically safe water for drinking, washing hands and teeth, preparing food and washing dishes;
• if you are not sure the water is safe, boil it, letting it boil for 5 minutes from the moment it first boils;
• wash water containers carefully, rinse them with a little chlorine diluted in water, and always keep drinking water covered.

See What to do during a boil-water notice and Do-not-drink notices.

How much water should I store?

Phaenyx found no official per-person amount of water for Serbian households. The Ministry of Interior's Sector for Emergency Situations tells people preparing for floods to keep supplies of water, food, medicines, clothing and footwear, and, for an evacuation after a hazardous-materials accident, lists water in plastic bottles among the things to take ³. The rest of its advice is on our Serbia emergency supplies page. To choose your own target, see How much water to store per person per day? and Water storage containers.

Is Serbia short of water?

Not as a rule, but droughts are a real risk. In WRI's Aqueduct 4.0 model, the population-weighted median of Serbian cities is in the "low" category for water stress today and in the 2050 business-as-usual projection, but "medium-high" for drought risk ⁴. These are city medians: a given town can sit higher or lower.

Phaenyx found no national page listing current water restrictions in Serbia. Watch for notices from your municipality and water utility in dry summers, and see Drought preparedness.

What if I have a private well?

Batut says well water should be tested in a laboratory, regularly and several times a year, to know whether it is safe to drink ². Wells must be cleaned, washed and disinfected every 2 to 3 years, covered with concrete slabs and protected by a paved or concrete area of about 2 metres around them ².

After a flood, Batut's instructions are to clear the area around the well, repair damaged walls, pump out all the water and scrub the walls with a chlorine-based disinfectant ². Once the well refills, it is hyperchlorinated under the supervision of public health institute experts, and the water cannot be used straight away: they decide when and for what it can be used, after at least 30 minutes depending on the dose ². See Private well emergencies.

What should I do after a flood?

Batut's eight steps include using only safe drinking water, eating only canned or fully sealed food after washing the container, and not letting children play where flood water has spread ¹. If a building is still under water, ask the local authorities to help switch off electricity and gas; if you smell gas, do not go in ¹. See Water safety after a flood. A household plan can keep your water stock, local contacts and warning channels in one place.

Frequently asked questions

How long should I boil water in Serbia?

In its flood guidance, Batut says to let water you are unsure of boil for 5 minutes from the moment it first boils ¹.

Who tells me if the water is safe again?

The public health institutes; in its flood guidance, Batut says to rely only on their announcements ¹.

How often should a well be tested?

Several times a year, in a laboratory ².

Can I use my well right after disinfecting it?

No. Public health institute experts decide when and for what the water can be used ².

Sources

1. Institut za javno zdravlje Srbije „Dr Milan Jovanović Batut“ — Preporuke za postupanje stanovništva u toku poplave kao i nakon povlačenja vode iz poplavljenog područja — https://www.batut.org.rs/index.php?content=863 (accessed 2026-10-27)
2. Institut za javno zdravlje Srbije „Dr Milan Jovanović Batut“ — Šta bi trebalo da znamo ako se vodom snabdevamo iz bunara — https://www.batut.org.rs/index.php?content=883 (accessed 2026-10-27)
3. Ministarstvo unutrašnjih poslova, Sektor za vanredne situacije — Савети грађанима — http://prezentacije.mup.gov.rs/svs/saveti.html (accessed 2026-10-27)
4. World Resources Institute (WRI) — Aqueduct 4.0 (water stress, 2050 projection and drought risk) — https://www.wri.org/aqueduct (accessed 2026-10-27)