«In recent days, extremely worrying reports have been received regarding Sorical’s management of the procedures for suspending the water supply». The lawyer Saverio Cuoco, regional manager of the National Consumer Union, reports cases involving people with 100% disabilities and those over ninety, “in respect of whom – he states – the procedure for interrupting supply would have been activated, despite complaints and conciliations still in progress, on amounts that were totally estimated and therefore not due”.
Water – recalls the Consumers Union – is universally recognized not only as a natural resource, but as a primary good, indispensable and irreplaceable for human life.
In 2010, the UN recognized access to drinking water and sanitation services as an essential human right and also established a vital minimum of water necessary to satisfy essential needs and guarantee the dignity of the person, setting it at 50 liters per inhabitant per day. The Arera rules also require guaranteeing a minimum viable quantity and the protection of fragile subjects, prohibiting indiscriminate detachments.
«Sorical – states Cuoco – on the contrary, is proceeding with the suspension of water supply to defaulting users to recover credits. In the cases reported, the suspension occurred without any direct warning at the time of the intervention; the operator would have proceeded without ringing the users’ homes, leaving entire families, even with disabled people, without an essential service. In many of these cases, citizens had previously contested the amounts because they were based on estimated consumption and were forced to regularize the position to obtain the restoration of supply. In still other cases, detachment was carried out even in the presence of only one unpaid instalment”.
According to UNC Calabria, it is not a question of fueling controversy, but of ensuring that no person is left without water due to administrative disputes that are still open. The association therefore publicly requests “the immediate suspension of the secondments initiated in an indiscriminate manner and official clarifications on the procedures adopted”.
The matter now risks turning into a public case and further initiatives cannot be ruled out in the next few hours, including in the competent judicial offices; in fact, the association is evaluating the existence of elements that suggest crimes. «We invite citizens who find themselves in similar situations – is the final appeal – to contact us at the office, by calling 0965/24793, by writing to the email (email protected) or by connecting to the website www.uniconsum.it».