Water from a well, spring or river in Republika Srpska: permits you may need

This article explains when a farmer or accommodation owner in Republika Srpska needs a water consent (vodna saglasnost) or a water permit (vodna dozvola) for water from a well, spring or watercourse, and who issues them. It describes the position on 6 October 2026 and does not replace a conversation with the competent office. The rules on permits (terms, exemptions) are taken from the consolidated text of the Zakon o vodama published by Vode Srpske, so confirm them with the competent office before you apply.

In short

• Water for personal household needs from a well or spring on your own land counts as general use and needs no water-law act.
• The law expressly excludes irrigation done as a business from general use. Water abstraction for agriculture and for tourist activities is listed among the activities that need water-law acts.
• The acts are water guidelines (vodne smjernice), water consent (vodna saglasnost) and water permit (vodna dozvola).
• Javna ustanova Vode Srpske (public institution Vode Srpske) is competent for abstraction of 5 or more litres per second, and for building business facilities (accommodation, catering, agriculture, tourism), irrigation facilities (intakes, pump stations, canals) and recreational pools (Pravilnik, art. 5). For everything else, including smaller water abstractions, the municipality is competent (art. 6).
• A water permit is issued for a fixed term, at most 15 years, and cannot be transferred to another user.

Who it applies to

• Farmers who irrigate from a well, spring, river or reservoir to produce crops.
• Owners of guesthouses, rural tourism households and restaurants who take water for guests or for the business from their own well or spring.
• Anyone connected to the public water supply and sewer for ordinary family needs does not need water-law acts.

What to do

1. Decide what the water is for: family needs (no act) or a business use (irrigation, accommodation, catering).
2. Estimate how much you abstract in litres per second and what you are building. From 5 l/s, and for irrigation intakes, pump stations and canals, pools and business buildings, the request goes to Vode Srpske. A smaller water abstraction without building works listed in art. 5 is handled by the municipality.
3. For a new abstraction from a spring or groundwater beyond general use, the law requires prior water research works. Ask the competent office what exactly it requires.
4. If you build something (intake, pump station, pool, accommodation building), the request is made on the prescribed form: water guidelines (form VSM-1), water consent on the project (VS-1), and for built facilities a water permit (VD-1). The forms are on the Vode Srpske site.
5. For water consent the Pravilnik (rulebook) requires: ID copy or business registration, the guidelines decision if issued, location conditions, the main design with its technical review, a concession or lease contract if you build on public water property or water land, and proof of the administrative fee.
6. For a water permit: ID or registration, revised project documentation (if no consent was issued), as-built design, building permit, a concession or lease contract if the facility stands on public water property or water land, and proof of the fee. The applicant also pays the cost of the site visit to inspect the facility.
7. The office publishes a notice of the request. The period for written comments is at least 5 and at most 30 days from the day the notice is published.
8. Whoever abstracts water beyond general use must keep records of quantities, install measuring equipment and report data to the water management institutions.

When water consent is not needed

The Pravilnik says consent is not needed for facilities that plan no water use or up to 5 l/s (from public or own systems), except for bottling or commercial packaging of water. That does not mean no permit is needed: a water permit is required even where no consent was issued (Zakon o vodama, art. 143). The law exempts only narrow cases, among them a well, spring or cistern supplying a single household with drinking water, up to 10 m3 per day (art. 144). Guest accommodation and a business are not a single household, so that exemption does not apply to them without checking with the competent office.

Deadlines and amounts

• Water permit: at most 15 years, with conditions reviewed every fifth year if the permit runs longer than five years.
• The right under a permit lapses if it is unused for more than two years without a justified reason.
• The cost of the site visit is set by Javna ustanova Vode Srpske under a separate cost schedule (Pravilnik, art. 28) and is paid on the instruction received with the request. Ask the competent office for the amount of the administrative fee and of the costs.

Where to go

• Javna ustanova Vode Srpske, Sector for water management of the Trebišnjica river basin, Trebinje: tel. +387 59 245 510, trebinje@voders.org. Go to them first for abstraction of 5 l/s or more, irrigation, pools and building business facilities. Forms and regulations.
• The municipality where the intake is located (Trebinje, Bileća, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje, Berkovići): the department responsible for water-law acts, for smaller water abstractions and other cases.

Laws and sources

• Zakon o vodama (Službeni glasnik RS 50/06, 92/09, 121/12 and 74/17), arts. 50, 51, 53, 54, 121, 122, 127, 142 to 149, in the consolidated 2009 text published by Vode Srpske
• Pravilnik o vodopravnim aktima (Službeni glasnik RS 54/25), arts. 4 to 6, 18, 23, 25, 28, 33