The drinking water drama in the Region was “the topic of the summer” in terms of complaints. Therefore, within the framework of World Water Day, a new mobilization will be held in La Plata.
The movement was called by the different neighborhood assemblies such as Tolosa, Barrio Autonomía, San Carlos, Meridiano V, Ringuelet, City Bell, Gonnet, Villa Elvira, Los Hornos, Vareadores, Barrio Hipódromo, among others.
“You cannot live without water! Residents of the city,” read the main banner, which was accompanied by dozens of individual posters with messages demanding the water service.
In turn, they brought black colored balloons: “It is to represent the drama that we suffer as users precisely on World Water Day.” In addition to the balloons and posters, they brought empty drums and bottles, as a sign of protest.
In this context, Martín Zorrozua -a user from San Carlos, at 44 and 135- reported that “we have been without water in my house for 45 days. We no longer know what to do.”
THE WATER DEFICIT MAP
As a result of an initiative of the citizen construction space Buenos Aires Te Quiero Bien!, hundreds of residents of the region participated in the construction of a Sample Map of the drinking water service deficit.
As detailed (see video), the hydraulic and civil engineer Claudio Velazco, “unfortunately, the neighbors have normalized the deficiencies in the drinking water service and, when not, the claims for lack of water or for receiving water that is not suitable for consumption, appear as isolated and temporary problems, being that they are common and permanent throughout the region”.
Along these lines, he summarized: “ABSA is not up to the task, the service it provides to users is negligent and extremely poor.”
Consequently, the call made through social networks a week ago encouraged hundreds of residents to participate and provide information on the problems detected in each neighborhood related to the provision of drinking water. “Thus it was possible to constitute the Map”, he pointed out.
“Broadly speaking, the map shows how the lack of water -far from being a specific and isolated problem- is common to the entire region, being especially much more serious on the outskirts of the urban area of the city of La Plata”, Velazco maintains and points out: “This shows not only the poor service provided by the borrowing company, but also exposes what is the priority of public management and how, in this matter, neighbors who live in distant areas are also postponed to the center of the city”.
Along these lines, Velazco explained that “if we see the problem from a broader perspective, we will have proof before our eyes that the city of La Plata lacks
a planned and sustainable urban and demographic development, and infrastructure works in accordance with reality”.
