“The water crisis That Messina first she pushed away and today she is forced to face it is not only caused by the critical situation that the Sicily in recent months. If it is true, in fact, that the city loses 56.6 percent of its water, the issue of having an antiquated network arises once again, and one on which no action has been taken in a programmatic and responsible way for years. And yet, the dramatic situation that Messina experienced in 2015 is unforgettable, giving us the ‘worst’ national and international media spotlight”.
Thus, in a note, the city coordination of Forza Italiawith its coordinator Antonio Barbera.
“This means – the note continues – that those who have been in administration since 2018 must seriously assume their responsibilities. The time of ‘blaming those who were there before’ is over and it is certainly not even the fault of ‘fate’, given that the administrator Basile is the continuation of the De Luca administration and six years is enough time for the issue to be resolved or at least addressed with a different imprinting”.
“The administration, instead, preferred to even minimize the problem at first – Barbera continues – and, when the situation became complicated, to act without solutions, but by preparing buffer situations that change from day to day: we have to ask ourselves, is it admissible to prepare a distribution plan only on August 5? It is incredible to discover that there are areas of the city that use water 24 hours a day and others where the taps remain dry. The situation was already alarming in May with a drop in flow of 250 liters of water per second. Furthermore, the tankers used in the city and in the neighborhoods are few. No one communicates how many new wells exist. We are witnessing a communication that is not very transparent, which testifies to very serious communication and planning problems. It is no longer time to say we will do it, but it should have been said and done a long time ago”.
According to the Azzurri, “there are responsibilities on the part of the top management of Amam. This is not how you administer. Messina is not a condominium, but, let us remember, it is a metropolitan city where administrative action can no longer live on extemporaneous solutions that change from one day to the next”.
“Finally, we need to understand – concludes the note from Forza Italia – how much the water supply of the numerous cruise ships that stop in the port of Messina weighs in these dramatic weeks and we need to immediately clarify the ‘exchange’ of water with the Municipality of Taormina, after the work to replace the water supply pipes in Calatabiano, given that in Taormina there is water while in Messina it arrives with an eyedropper and in the Ionian municipality a graft has been created that takes water from the Fiumefreddo pipeline destined for Messina. If it is true that, as they say, the water is returned in equal quantities by another aqueduct, here the numbers don’t add up and neither does the water”.
Carreri’s reply
The reply from the City Coordinator of South Calls North arrives, Nino Carrerito the note from the Forza Italia coordination: «But what a surprise… Here we also discover the existence of a Forza Italia coordination. Where were you hiding? Barbera, in his note, raises some questions. I would like to ask Barbera himself just one question, just to clarify: could the solutions to Messina’s water supply problems have perhaps come from the Forza Italia members who governed the city for decades? Maybe Barbera could explain to us why the Musumeci and Schifani governments have not resolved the water fragilities of Sicily and Messina despite having the tools and the money.
It is clear – says Carreri – that there are those who have forgotten the conditions in which Amam was when De Luca took office as mayor of Messina in June 2018. The inherited picture was disastrous: the average water supply was limited to 12-13 hours a day. Amam was close to bankruptcy with over 50 million euros in debtof which 39 million were already subject to foreclosures by electricity supply companies. There was no project to identify alternative sources of water supply. There was no project to complete the reservoirs. There was no plan for the redevelopment and safety of the water distribution network. There were no projects for the safety and redevelopment of the supply tunnels and wells. In light of this scenario, the De Luca administration made a radical change. At the end of the mandate, in February 2022, the results achieved were the following: the average daily water supply had risen to 18-19 hours a day. The H24 strategy had been implemented with related planning and timetable. Amam’s balance sheets had been restored, with a sustainable payment plan based on the company’s revenue for the residual debts. Over 50 million euros in funding had been found to start work on the H24 project. A project portfolio of over 50 million euros had been drawn up within the H24 strategy. In light of all this, I am once again promoting an open discussion between this administration and its detractors, also regarding the agreement between Siciliacque and Taormina which sees Amam playing the simple role of conveyor. Barbera then will not have noticed that in these very months works for over 20 million euros on the network with PNRR funds are underway. Who drew up the project? Who obtained the funding and contracted the works? It is hoped that those who raise criticism will finally present themselves for a constructive debate. As the Citizen Coordinator of Sud chiama Nord, I remain available and I hope for a dialogue based on facts and truth”.