“The water emergency in Potenza and its hinterland has reached truly worrying levels. Prefect, Region and Municipality urgently convene the crisis unit so that all the necessary initiatives are put in place to create as little inconvenience to citizens as possible”. This was stated by the general secretary of the CGIL of Potenza, Vincenzo Esposito. “First of all – he adds – we ask Acquedotto Lucano for faster, more effective and more widespread communication with users regarding the times of suspension of the water network. It is unacceptable that in many cases the information arrives a few minutes before the service interruption. It is then necessary to take action with the use of tankers throughout the city, from the center to the outskirts up to the districts, communicating the arrival time in good time. In fact, we understand that entire neighborhoods did not have water for 72 hours. To date we are aware of the random passage of tankers, without the residents having been informed.
Although the emergency also concerns the province and the entire Basilicata – continues Esposito -, taking into account the service role of the capital, starting from the presence of the regional hospital, urgent interventions are needed to contain the emergency which, as of the days, it could become of a health and environmental nature”.
For Esposito “the time has come to clarify and identify specific institutional responsibilities, if there are any. Because if it is true that we are facing an ongoing climate crisis, with high levels of drought, it is also true that Potenza has the highest rate of water dispersion (71% according to Istat) in Italy, due to poor manpower and antiquated systems. Therefore, the precise causes of this unprecedented emergency must be ascertained and made known to citizens who deserve respect and transparency”.
