Ortigia water emergency intensifies as 258 residents file collective complaint

A collective complaint signed by 258 residents of Ortigia was sent via certified email to water operator Aretusacque, the ATI Siracusa consortium, the municipality and prefecture of Siracusa, the local health authority ASP, and ARERA. The complaint, submitted by the Comitato Ortigia Cittadinanza Resistente, cites a severe and ongoing water shortage that began on 10 July, describing frequent total lack of water or insufficient pressure in many households, especially on higher floors and in the island’s upper interior areas.

The committee has launched a daily monitoring programme that records observations twice a day. Its latest data show that about 80 % of the reported cases involve either no water at all or pressure too low to ensure regular tap flow. The group criticises the remedial measures taken so far as inadequate, warns of hygiene and health risks, and stresses that service can only be considered normal when water reaches all taps with sufficient pressure, not merely when technical readings at low‑lying points appear satisfactory.