Key water supply project for Toplica district getting off ground after 40 years – Government initiates amendment of Selova reservoir plan

The Government of Serbia has decided to initiate the drafting of amendments to the Spatial Plan for the Special Purpose Area of the Selova reservoir basin, a document key to the development of water supply in the Toplica region.

This plan will cover parts of the territories of the municipalities of Kursumlija and Brus, including several dozen cadastral municipalities, and the final boundary of the scope will only be defined in the Draft Plan. The amendments are being made due to a new survey of the sanitary protection zone of the source, as well as updated technical documentation.

The plan fits into Serbia’s strategic documents, in which the Selova reservoir is designated as a priority resource for the development of the regional water supply system. As a key pillar of the Toplica system, the future reservoir should ensure a stable water supply for Prokuplje, Kursumlija, Blace, Merosina and Zitoradja.

Amendments to the Spatial Plan will define the area for the use of the source, the location of the future landfill of materials from the riverbed cleaning, the route of the service road around the reservoir, anti-erosion measures, as well as the possibility of building an additional overflow facility. The document will also contain elements of detailed regulation, which means that it will be directly applicable after adoption.

The draft plan will be developed within 12 months, and the funds for its development are provided by the public water management enterprise JVP Srbijavode. The project leader is the Agency for Spatial and Urban Planning of the Republic of Serbia, which will obtain the requirements and approvals from all competent institutions.

The construction of the Selova dam and reservoir near Kursumlija, which began in 1986, has not yet been completed, and all work has been suspended for the past ten years. As announced, work is planned to continue at the beginning of next year and the complete implementation of the project by 2030. This would provide water supply for half a million people in the Toplica District and the city of Nis.

I. Z.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Agencija za prostorno planiranje i urbanizam Republike Srbije

JVP Srbijavode Novi Beograd

Government of Serbia

Agency for Spatial and Urban Planning of the Republic of Serbia

JVP Srbijavode

Spatial Plan for the Special Purpose Area of the Selova reservoir basin

Selova dam near Kuršumlija