There is a question that many have been asking for two days, that is, since when the mayor Federico Basile signed the ordinance with which he accelerated the activation of the four wells of Briga and Mili (which, incidentally, happened yesterday morning): if the water is drinkableas Basile highlights several times both in the ordinance and in the various press releases issued, because does it “strictly” recommend its use for hygiene and health purposes? Because there is a substantial potability – of which the Comuen feels confident, strong in the analyses carried out by two accredited laboratories, Chemitecno Sud of Messina and Giammoro – and a formal, official potability, which instead must be certified by the ASP. The latter does not yet exist, the ASP has not expressed its opinion, despite being aware of the analyses of the laboratories, which is why the water cannot formally be declared potable.
But what are the formal steps that should normally be followed to activate new wells? The Civil Engineering Department of Messina recalled them at the beginning of August, when it wrote to all the municipalities of the province highlighting «the need to build new wells in order to mitigate the effects of the water crisis». These are steps provided for by a royal decree of 1933: the Municipality has the obligation to present an application to the Region through the Civil Engineering Department itself, to obtain, after the relevant investigation, the concession to use the wells. In cases of urgency, the drawing license can also be requested «as a provisional title». In any case, it was underlined in that note, «preliminary to the release of any provisional authorization for use (…) is the possession of the certification relating to the potability of the water, issued by the competent health authority». That is, the ASP.
Asp which, in turn, according to legislative decree number 18 of 23 February 2023, is required to comply with a series of proceduresespecially «in the case of water intended for human consumption coming from new supplies, or for which no previous assessments of suitability are available». In these cases «the destination for human consumption is normally subordinated to the results of the inspection examination and analytical controls (…) carried out on a seasonal basis, with a minimum frequency of four samplings uniformly distributed over time». Long passages, in short, which are difficult to reconcile with periods of emergency. And in fact the same law provides for exceptional procedures: «In circumstances of proven drinking water emergency, and limited to the period of the emergency (…), the judgement of suitability for water to be used for the first time for human consumption can also be expressed in derogation from seasonal controls on the basis of assessments by the territorially competent Local Health Authority, taking into particular account the results of the risk analysis made available by the drinking water manager, of any inspection examination and investigation deemed appropriate for the purposes, and implementing, where necessary, adequate control measures aimed at ensuring and providing evidence of the absence of risks for human health».
Therefore, the final word always and exclusively belongs to the ASP. Any other laboratory, no matter how accredited and qualified, is not enough. This is why Messina’s water is drinkable… but it is not. At least from a legal point of view. But there is an additional factor: the drought emergency. An emergency for which there is an ordinance from the Head of the National Civil Protection Department, number 1084 of 19 May, with the emblematic title: “First urgent civil protection interventions aimed at countering the current water deficit situation in the territory of the Sicilian Region”. Article 5 lists a series of acts, including the famous royal decree of ’33, from which the emergency commissioner can derogate. Amam itself, as far back as June, had asked to be able to act in derogation precisely for the activation of the Briga wells. But so far – and this is the criticism coming from Palazzo Zanca, also through that ordinance that seems to be a political message – very few derogations have been seen.
