Despite austerity measures, consumption has increased.

Rijeka continues to face a critical water situation despite efforts to reduce consumption. According to reports, water usage in the city and surrounding areas has increased rather than decreased, contrary to the recommendations issued by the City of Rijeka and local self-governments. Over a 24-hour period, from noon on Thursday to noon on Friday, more than 100,000 cubic meters of water were consumed, which represents approximately five percent higher than the levels recorded at the end of last week. During this time, officials had already issued warnings and implemented initial measures aimed at conserving water due to prolonged drought conditions affecting the broader region. The data from the Water Supply and Sewage Company (ViK) indicates that the discharge rate from the largest and most important source of drinking water, Zvir, located at the center of Rijeka, has declined by an additional three thousand cubic meters per day in recent days. This decline accounts for three percent of daily consumption. As a result, the company has intensified extraction from Zvir 2, with current withdrawals reaching around six hundred cubic meters per day. However, Director Damir Togunjac of ViK warned that maintaining the current level of consumption will become extremely challenging unless there is a significant increase in rainfall. Despite some light rainfall during the evening of Thursday and into the night of Friday, the amount of precipitation remained relatively low, and there have been no noticeable positive effects yet. The company plans to monitor developments throughout the night of Friday into Saturday, but even if heavier rain occurs, they expect it would take nearly a full day before the source’s output increases significantly. Togunjac expressed disappointment that the calls for conservation, along with the recommendations and measures introduced by cities and municipalities, have not yielded the desired results. Instead, water usage has not only remained unchanged but has actually increased in recent days. He emphasized that it is essential to stop all non-essential water consumption, including activities such as watering lawns, gardens, and agricultural land, cleaning public and private roads, filling swimming pools, and operating fountains. These actions, he noted, place unnecessary strain on the public water supply system. In accordance with a decision made by the City of Rijeka, the watering of public green spaces, parks, flower beds, playgrounds, and sports fields using potable water has been restricted or temporarily suspended. Exceptions are allowed for newly planted trees and shrubs that require water for survival. Cleaning of streets, markets, parks, playgrounds, beaches, and other public surfaces has been reduced to the absolute minimum, and will only occur when necessary for hygiene, health, or safety reasons. Public fountains that draw water from the municipal water supply system have also been shut down, except in cases where their removal is not technically or safety-wise feasible. Additionally, the washing of municipal, official, and other vehicles has been minimized to the lowest possible extent. City services and institutions are being asked to review all existing methods of water use and further reduce consumption wherever possible. Where technical and sanitary conditions permit, priority will be given to alternative or technical sources of water for tasks such as cleaning, irrigation, and other purposes, instead of using potable water from the public supply system.