Translated automatically by AI from the Italian original.
There is a political clash over water management in Syracuse. At the heart of the row are the repeated service failures that have affected the city for months, the responsibilities of the water ATI and the role of Aretusacque. Exchanging views, from a distance, are the mayor of Syracuse and president of the ATI, Francesco Italia, the Fratelli d’Italia MP Luca Cannata and the local branch of the Five Star Movement.
Italia started the exchange by responding to Cannata’s criticism and invoking Cannata’s own previous administrative experience in Avola. According to the mayor, in Avola almost all of the roughly 13,000 users are still without meters, with bills based on estimated consumption. Italia recalled that in 2021 only 300 meters were purchased and that a subsequent voluntary pilot project attracted few participants.
Under scrutiny are three projects for Avola’s water infrastructure, excluded from regional funding totalling over €4 million: €2.77 million for meters, €800,000 for the pipeline in via Petrara and €443,000 to upgrade the pipeline from the Miranda spring. A regional decree of 17 June 2026 reportedly highlighted documentary shortcomings and, in the case of Miranda, an overlap with the via Petrara project. Italia has therefore called for a review of the submitted documentation, protocols and timelines, insisting on the need to establish responsibility.
The ATI president also defended oversight of Aretusacque, noting that the assembly of 3 November had approved a review of contracts and their costs. He announced checks on the security deposits for more than 5,000 sample users and asked the operator for a schedule to tackle faults and outages, including those caused by electrical problems. Aretusacque took over operations in Syracuse on 25 June 2026.
Cannata hit back hard, accusing Italia of acting as an observer rather than the person in charge. “Citizens turn on their taps and find no water. Italia opens his mouth and answers with arrogance when asked about the service failures,” the MP said, demanding to know what instructions had been issued, what deadlines had been set and what results had been achieved. On the Avola issue, he defended the decision to make meters available free of charge and to request that their widespread installation be planned and funded under the provincial water service, avoiding extra costs for the Municipality and for families.
Cannata also called for the full publication of the file on the three excluded projects, including requests, responses, supplementary documents and the paperwork sent to the region, so that the responsibilities of the Municipality and the ATI can be clarified. He also questioned Aretusacque’s contracts, costs, checks and management of security deposits. “Transparency means publishing the documents, not selecting the ones useful for a political row,” he stressed.
The Five Star Movement in Syracuse also entered the debate, strongly criticising the mayor. The local group said that every time Italia speaks about water, citizens struggling with service failures can only judge his words negatively. The Five Star Movement reminded him of his dual role as mayor and ATI president, noting that for four months there have been repeated faults and outages with serious consequences for residents, businesses and tourists.
The M5S also described the attack on public water management as “repetitive and ridiculous”, contesting the lack of concrete examples to support the criticism. It also highlighted the contentious issue of bills and security deposits, seen as particularly controversial at a time of water supply difficulties.
