The current water crisis is the result of “non-compliance carried out by Aica since its inception”, while the use of the drought emergency is only “the alibi of politics”.
It is a very harsh letter signed by the council of associations within the Agrigento consortium water company, which once again asks for clarity on what has been done to prepare for a particularly dry season like the current one.
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“The effects of these non-compliances which have taken place since the birth of Aica – they write – are there for all to see and the users are, rightly, literally on a war footing. On 14 January 2024 we notified the prefect of a letter in which it represented exactly the current scenario, with the risks associated with maintaining public order in an area forced to suffer continuous harassment and disservices. As far as we are concerned, there is no way out of this state of crisis unless we urgently reverse course and start from the failure to publish the planning documents and the half-yearly reports, especially in reference to the concrete measures with which the critical issues of the summer months will be addressed. Users have the right to know what the prospects are for the summer, if they are condemned to suffer even longer supply shifts than they are today”.
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The consultation requests, in particular, that the data relating to the quantities of water actually available to the population be published urgently, as well as the data on how much water is supplied for each municipality managed by Aica; what percentage is purchased by Siciliacque and whether this has increased compared to the past and, above all, “what is intended to be done, cards in hand, to increase independence from water supply”.
Precisely with respect to the overshoot, the consultation defines as “a political move” the request for payment of outstanding invoices for 18 million euros, with “the clear effect, if the competent authorities do not intervene, of placing a tombstone on the experience of public water in the province of Agrigento”.
But what is the prospect for the future? According to the consultation, it is now impossible to recover what has not been done in terms of both management and infrastructure planning, especially if we consider that the water company is also behind in terms of providing financial instruments.
As regards the lack of transparency in providing documents, the associations that make up the body say they are ready to turn “to the competent authorities” if their requests are not fulfilled.
