Water Permits and Safe Water in a Guest-Hosting Rural Household (East Herzegovina)

If you plan to host guests at your rural household in East Herzegovina — whether you offer overnight stays, a breakfast of homemade products, or a tasting of wine and rakija — the water you use stops being purely your private matter and becomes a question of public interest and guest health. The well, spring or connection that supplied you for years for your own needs falls under a stricter legal and sanitary regime the moment your guests drink from it, or you use it to wash dishes and prepare their food.

This guide explains two related but distinct sets of obligations. The first are the water permits (vodni akti) that govern the right to abstract and use water and to discharge wastewater. The second is proving the health (hygienic) safety of drinking water. The focus is on Republika Srpska and the municipalities of East Herzegovina: Trebinje, Bileća, Nevesinje, Gacko, Ljubinje, Berkovići and Istočni Mostar. Exact fees, deadlines and forms change over time, so figures here are indicative — always confirm the current situation with the competent institution before you spend money.

When a water permit is needed, and when it is not

The Republika Srpska Law on Waters distinguishes general use of water from special use. General use, as a rule, covers abstracting small quantities of groundwater from your own well or spring on your own land for household needs — drinking, cooking, hygiene, watering livestock and the garden. For such non-commercial use within the limits of your own needs, a separate water permit is usually not required.

The situation changes once your activity moves beyond purely personal needs. Hosting paying guests, preparing and serving food and drink to them, or abstracting larger volumes counts as special (commercial) use. Then, depending on scale and purpose, a water act may be required — a water consent and/or a water permit. The same applies if you drill a new, deeper well, cap a spring, or discharge wastewater into a natural recipient.

The key rule: a well for your own needs usually requires no permit, but the moment you use the water in hospitality or serve it to guests as drinking water, you enter the regime of special use and sanitary supervision. Do not rely on the fact that "everyone in the village does it this way."

Water acts: conditions, consent and permit

In Republika Srpska, water acts are generally issued in a three-step chain, each built on the previous one:

1. Water conditions (vodni uslovi) — a preliminary act setting out the conditions a structure or intervention must meet so as not to disturb the water regime. Requested early, before technical documentation is drafted or works begin.
2. Water consent (vodna saglasnost) — issued on the basis of technical documentation that has been aligned with the water conditions. It confirms the project is acceptable from a water-protection standpoint.
3. Water permit (vodna dozvola) — the final act, and the legal basis for using water and/or discharging wastewater. It sets the manner, conditions and scope of water use, and the conditions for drainage.

For a simple family well that you are only now bringing into hospitality use, the competent authority may direct you to a shorter procedure or to a permit-application form for already-built structures. There are standardized request forms (in practice labelled O-4, O-5, O-6) for different situations — for planning documents, for structures that already hold water conditions and consent, and for legalized structures that lack earlier acts.

Who issues the acts, and whom you approach

Water management in Republika Srpska is run by JU "Vode Srpske" (headquartered in Bijeljina, with regional branch units), under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of Republika Srpska. Jurisdiction to issue water consent and permits — depending on the type and size of the intervention — belongs to JU "Vode Srpske" and its branch units, or to the local self-government body responsible for spatial planning, meaning your municipality.

A practical first step is to visit the competent department of your municipality (Trebinje, Bileća, Nevesinje, Gacko, Ljubinje, Berkovići or Istočni Mostar) and ask who is competent for your case. The legal deadline for deciding a complete application is, as a rule, about 30 days. Water fees (vodne naknade) are also payable for using water and discharging wastewater, with the amount depending on quantity and purpose.

The risk of acting informally is real: an inspector can halt works, prohibit use of water from an already-drilled well, and impose a fine. Improper drilling in karst terrain, which is common in Herzegovina, can also endanger the aquifer itself and water quality.

Health safety of drinking water

Separately from the water acts, you must prove the water is safe to drink. This is an obligation under sanitary regulations and is especially important because you prepare food and drink for third parties. Hygienic safety is established by laboratory analysis covering two basic groups of indicators:

• Microbiological analysis — checks for indicator and pathogenic microorganisms (e.g. Escherichia coli, total coliform bacteria, enterococci). Their presence signals faecal contamination, and the water is then not fit to drink.
• Physico-chemical analysis — measures parameters such as colour, turbidity, odour, pH, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, hardness and oxygen demand.

For new sources and wells, an extended examination of water from the new source is performed, followed by periodic monitoring. For open surface springs and shallow karst wells, more frequent sampling is advised because they are more sensitive to contamination after heavy rainfall.

Where analyses are done

Drinking-water analyses in Republika Srpska are carried out by the Public Health Institute of Republika Srpska (JZU Institut za javno zdravstvo RS), whose laboratories are accredited, with regional centres across the entity — including the Regional Centre in Trebinje, which covers East Herzegovina. It is recommended that sampling be done by an authorized officer of the institute, because improper sampling makes the report invalid. Keep the report and renew it periodically; the sanitary inspection may ask to see it.

Drainage and wastewater

Hosting guests increases the volume of wastewater, so drainage is as important as supply. In rural areas without a public sewer, the usual solution is a watertight septic (holding) tank or a small treatment unit. If wastewater is discharged into a natural recipient, or a soakaway well is planned, this falls under the water regime and may require water consent and a permit.

Poorly resolved drainage in karst terrain directly endangers your own source and your neighbours' sources, because contamination spreads quickly through fissures. The septic tank should therefore sit downslope and at a safe distance from wells and springs, be emptied regularly, and its emptying recorded.

Practical steps (checklist)

1. Determine the use regime. Assess whether the water is only for you or also for guests (special use).
2. Visit the municipality. Ask the competent department whether your municipality or JU "Vode Srpske" is responsible for your case.
3. Obtain the water acts in order. Water conditions → water consent → water permit; for an existing well, request the appropriate application form.
4. Sort out drainage. Check whether your septic tank or treatment unit requires a water permit.
5. Analyse the water. Order a microbiological and physico-chemical analysis from the Public Health Institute of RS (Trebinje Regional Centre), with authorized sampling.
6. Keep the documentation. Hold the reports and acts ready for inspection and renew the analyses periodically.
7. Check for support. Through IPARD and EU programmes, UNDP BiH and republic funds, there are sometimes resources for water and sanitary infrastructure in rural tourism.

Proper water acts and a clean water-safety report are not merely a legal requirement — they are also an argument for trust, before both the guest and the inspector. For more information, consult your municipality, JU "Vode Srpske" (www.vladars.net) and the Public Health Institute of Republika Srpska.