Bulgarians thirsty 'with water under our feet' amid shortages

Bulgarian villager Rumyana Tsoneva keeps opening the tap in her yard in Gorna Studena near the Danube - and keeps finding it dry.

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Svishtov - Bulgarian villager Rumyana Tsoneva keeps opening the tap in her yard in Gorna Studena near the Danube - and keeps finding it dry.

When water finally comes, it lasts only a few hours and the retired agricultural expert has to choose between filling cans, running the washing machine or taking a shower.

"The problems date back 15 years, but every year the situation gets worse," the energetic 69-year-old said. "This year, we switched to rationing as early as June."

Bulgaria, the EU's poorest country, has decades-old pipes - some laid before World War II - while water theft and poor resource management amplify the consequences of climate change.

"Every other drop is lost before reaching the tap," said Emil Gachev, a researcher at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.