Climate change or mismanagement? Bulgaria faces another year of water shortages

published on 9/11/25 7:58 PM

Photo: БГНЕС

Bulgarians are well acquainted with the wry refrain, “Winter surprised us again” — a phrase trotted out with equal parts amusement and irritation each year, as the first snowfall throws the country into disarray. But this year, perhaps it should be: “Drought surprised us again.”

Hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians have faced water shortages or severe restrictions for yet another year. Regional centres including Pleven and Shumen, as well as hundreds of smaller towns, have all been affected.

Most official statements attribute the crisis to climate change and prolonged droughts. While these factors undoubtedly exist, are they the root cause — or is the real problem a collective failure to properly manage water resources?

Dimitar Kumanov, an engineer from the Balkanka Association, believes it is the latter.

“There is enough water, but the management of water resources overall does not meet the required standard. It is worth noting that Pernik, the town hardest hit in the past five years, has no problems now, even though other regions are experiencing climate shifts. Last year, when Pernik had issues, no other region did. Now, climate change is affecting everywhere except Pernik,” Kumanov notes ironically. “Climate change is real, of course, but, unlike last year, state authorities can no longer claim it is the reason people are left without water.”

The crisis is exacerbated by ageing water networks, resulting in significant losses. Kumanov argues that responsibility lies not only with the regional ministry overseeing water utilities, but also with the energy ministry, which allocates water to hydroelectric plants.

As for Pleven, the largest Bulgarian town to be placed under strict water rationing, Kumanov suggests short- and long-term solutions. Above all, he insists, thefts must be stopped.

“Zoning and rooting out theft within the city — that must be the first step. Thefts are the quickest to detect: with the right equipment and no more than ten people, it would take just two months to establish who is stealing water and where, across Pleven’s entire network.”

He adds that another relatively quick solution for the region would be to restore the unfinished pipeline, abandoned after the political changes of the 1990s, linking the Sopot reservoir to Lovech. This, he argues, would resolve the water problems of both regional centres.

By contrast, the construction of the Cherni Osam reservoir, now backed by the government, is in his view “unthinkable” — both because of local opposition in the Troyan area and because of its environmental impact.

“Lovech and Pleven were deliberately left without water so that the public could be persuaded that the only solution was Cherni Osam — a project that will take at least ten years and cost no less than a billion leva, even at today’s prices. Thankfully, both Pleven and Lovech now understand that they are being deceived about this reservoir,” says Kumanov, chairman of the Balkanka Association.

The Cherni Osam project raises serious environmental questions

The problem of water scarcity extends far beyond Pleven: Haskovo and Shumen are also affected, while the Black Sea coast risks shortages every summer, though the situation there remains stable for now.

So, what is the solution at a national level?

“Stop the thefts,” insists Kumanov, “by introducing strict penalties, including prison terms, instead of the symbolic fines imposed until now.”