That battle in central Bosnia may have been won back in December 2018, but she is still on the frontline in the fight against other proposed plants across the Balkan country and has now been honored with a so-called "Green Nobel."
The 40-year-old was named the European winner of the 2021 Goldman Environmental Prize on Thursday (June 15), which honors grassroots environmental pioneers from six regions around the world.
The virtual prize-giving ceremony, hosted by American actress and activist Jane Fonda, hailed the winners and "the power of grassroots activism in the fight to protect our planet."
Bilal said she was ready to defend the river for "5,300 days" if needed.
In the summer of 2017, the villagers prevented heavy machines from crossing a wooden bridge on the route to the building site, saying the project would ruin the environment.
Bilal said they endured an attack by police who she says forcibly moved them for violating public peace and order.
But they fought on, and after the permits were revoked a year and a half later, the bridge was renamed after the women.
The activist's struggle came with a price, as she said she lost her job, friends and her daughter faced bullying at school.
But Bilal, a trained economist, said she did it so her daughter did not have to face the same issues as an adult.
Other communities elsewhere in Bosnia are fighting their own campaigns against plans to dam rivers.
Following its war in the 1990s, Bosnia, known for its free-flowing mountain rivers and untouched nature, has experienced a dam boom, with 454 mini-hydropower projects built, planned, or under construction.
Officials say it is part of its plan to produce more energy from green resources.
Activist Samir Lemes said local authorities were ignoring signatures and arguments from activists and protesters, and warned that damming the rivers would damage the region's natural beauty and habitats for endangered species.
On Monday (June 14), dozens of protesters gathered near Konjic to block trucks from entering a hydroelectric powerplant construction site on the Neretvica river.
One of Bosnia's two autonomous regions, the Bosniak-Croat Federation, home to the Kruscica and the sites of the latest protests, in April proposed banning the construction of mini plants but it still needs to be approved by parliament - a process that may take years.
It has been delayed due to the conflicting interests of political parties and investors with political connections.
REUTERS