Italian regions rally to keep water a public good

In Sicily, the Forum Acqua e Beni Comuni denounced the regional government's plan to privatise the water system, arguing it betrays the 2011 referendum in which 97.9% of voters chose a publicly owned, non‑profit water service. The forum highlighted higher tariffs, two court rulings declaring the privatised manager illegal, and a proposed law that would centralise water authority and open the way to private management.

In Ferrara, Forum Ferrara Partecipata finished the first phase of a campaign to re‑publicly manage the local water service before the current concession ends in 2027. The initiative included public meetings, school projects, a competition for campaign messaging and a petition that gathered 633 signatures calling for a fully public provincial water company from 2028. Both groups invoke the 2011 referendum as evidence that citizens consider water a common good and a human right.