The article examines issues of local water resources using Bela Krajina as an example - a rural, karst landscape in south-eastern Slovenia. In the field, we made an inventory of 261 different water resources, analysing their past and current use along with their role in the life of the local population and assessing their hydrogeological sensitivity and hydroecological threat they face. With the introduction of distributed water systems, water resources lost their traditional importance in terms of water supply, with local population’s reliance on and knowledge about them fading. Nevertheless, certain local communities have recently recognized their natural and cultural value, as well as their importance to ecosystems, which is reflected in initiatives for the preservation, protection and restoration of individual water resources. Most of Bela Krajina’s water resources are very sensitive to pollution due to the karst surface, however the actual hydroecological threat they face from human activities in their catchments is relatively low. Prispevek obravnava problematiko lokalnih vodnih virov na primeru Bele krajine - podeželske, kraške pokrajine v jugovzhodni Sloveniji. Na terenu smo inventarizirali 261 različnih vodnih virov, preučili njihovo nekdanjo in sedanjo rabo ter vlogo v življenju lokalnega prebivalstva in podali oceno njihove hidrogeološke občutljivosti ter hidroekološke ogroženosti. Z izgradnjo vodovoda so belokranjski vodni viri izgubili svoj tradicionalni vodooskrbni pomen, navezanost lokalnega prebivalstva nanje in vedenje o njih pa tone v pozabo. Kljub temu posamezne lokalne skupnosti v zadnjem času prepoznavajo njihovo naravno, kulturno in ekosistemsko vrednost, kar se zrcali v pobudah za ohranjanje, zaščito in obnovo posameznih vodnih virov. Večina belokranjskih vodnih virov je zaradi kraškega površja sicer zelo občutljivih za onesnaževanje, vendar pa je njihova dejanska hidroekološka ogroženost, ki izhaja iz človekovih dejavnosti v zaledju, razmeroma majhna.