Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
AGRIGENTO / NEWS – A dramatic case of a public-health emergency and breached fundamental rights has shaken Agrigento. In the coastal district of Maddalusa, a family has been unable to access a water supply for more than six months. Their home is in an area classified as “Zone A” with an absolute building ban and is therefore deemed unauthorised; since last May, this has led to the suspension of tanker deliveries after checks on building irregularities.
The most serious consequence has fallen on a six-year-old girl whose health has been severely compromised by the prolonged lack of drinking water.
The impact on the child’s health: skin condition and stress
According to the findings, the girl has been diagnosed with a skin condition (vitiligo), currently under specialist and forensic medical examination, likely triggered or worsened by the severe daily hygiene shortages and the constant psychophysical stress.
On an emotional and psychological level, the clinical picture shows a loss of appetite and continuous anxiety: the child lives with the constant, anguished fear of “having lost the right to water forever”. To meet basic daily needs, the family has for months been forced to fill jerry cans and containers manually at the public fountain in Bonamorone.
Legal notice: seven days to restore the “minimum vital” supply
Given the gravity of the situation, lawyer Angela Riggio – representing the family and the girl’s parents – has formally issued and served a legal notice and demand on Agrigento Municipality, the water-service provider Aica and the territorial water assembly (Ati).
The notice gives the bodies an unconditional ultimatum of seven days to guarantee the family the “minimum vital” supply by urgently restoring the tanker service. If there is no response or the request is rejected, the family has already announced an immediate appeal to the regional administrative court (TAR) and the start of a civil action for compensation for the biological and existential harm caused to the child.
