Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
Syracuse is grappling with ongoing water emergencies and works that, under contractual agreements, should have been completed and tested by 2023. This is the accusation levelled by Carlo Gradenigo, president of Lealtà e Condivisione, who highlights delays in planning the interventions needed to ensure continuity of the city’s water supply and calls on Aretusacque and the supervisory bodies to account.
At the heart of the issue is the replacement of the main pipelines between the well fields and the city’s reservoirs, as well as the installation of systems to eliminate water hammer—a phenomenon that occurs during pump shutdowns and restarts, causing pipes to burst.
According to Gradenigo, during meetings with Aretusacque executives, the company expressed its intention to carry out these works, but considered them an exception to its investment plans because they were linked to the age of the pipelines. The works are to be funded by a €6 million regional fund, while the company is reportedly preparing projects to access the resources.
A situation that raises questions, according to the president of Lealtà e Condivisione, especially in light of the 30-year integrated water service management contract, awarded for a value exceeding €1.2 billion.
Gradenigo argues that these interventions were already provided for in the previous contract with SIAM and were obligations for the operator as early as 2021. These included replacing the pipelines to the Bufalaro Alto, Bufalaro Basso and Teracati reservoirs and installing air chambers in the Dammusi and San Nicola well fields. The schedule had envisaged the testing of these latter plants within the second year of the award.
“How is it possible that in 2026 we do not even have a project for a work that should have been tested and operational in 2023?” Gradenigo asks.
This leads to a series of questions for those responsible for management and oversight: who should have ensured compliance with contractual commitments? Who will now bear the costs of designing and carrying out works that, according to the accusation, should have been financed by the previous operator? And what will the consequences be for citizens and businesses that have suffered service disruptions and losses?
The president of Lealtà e Condivisione calls on the competent authorities to provide full clarity on responsibilities and any delays, also citing the burden of water tariffs, which are among the highest in Italy.
