The nearly 400 residents of the Selva Brava and Font Bona housing estates, in Llagostera, suffer too often from a problem that should be, at best, sporadic. For four days not a drop of water comes out of their taps. And in the middle of a heat wave, the consequences are aggravated. "With these temperatures, I fainted on Tuesday and I didn't even have water to cool off," explains Diego, a neighbor who yesterday at noon used the tanker truck that the Llagostera City Council has made available to those affected by provide them with water to scrub, clean the dishes or shower. It also offers bottles of bottled water, up to 13 liters per day per home.
It is the umpteenth breakdown in the supply network managed for decades by the Rec Madral company, which has declined to make statements. "The infrastructure is outdated, maintenance is scarce, breakdowns do not stop and leaks are repaired with weeks of delay", says another resident of Selva Brava. Those affected have already lost track of how many times, whether due to a leak or various breakdowns, they have been left without water at home. One of the residents explains that in nine months he has already experienced three episodes of cuts that have lasted more than a day and about twenty several hours. "Also, there isn't a day that we don't have a leak on one side or the other," complains Félix Modrón, who loads two eight-liter bottles of non-potable water for scrubbing and another thirteen liters for drinking.
The repeated complaints against the company for its lack of investment were repeated yesterday alongside the tanker that will pass daily through the two affected housing estates until the problem is resolved. "This is desperate, we have been like this for four days; with this heat we can't even shower; it's a shame and the company hasn't even issued a statement", says Josep Maria Hierro, who has lived in the Font Bona housing estate for more than two decades. "Unfortunately, it's not a new situation for us, we suffer from it every two out of three and the company goes through everything", adds la Gràcia, mother of two children aged five and eleven who are fighting the high values that the thermometer marks these days soaked in a small pool in which they have kept the water throughout the year. The Council has also put the hot water showers in the sports hall at the service of those affected and offers free access to the municipal swimming pool in the La Canyera development.
The mayor of Llagostera, Narcís Llinàs, recognizes that beyond pressuring the company to resolve the breakdowns as soon as possible and offer residents emergency solutions, there is not much else he can do. "Our hands are tied, it's an agreement between a private company and the residents" acknowledges the mayor, who is studying with the City Council's legal services whether they can take legal action. The urban planning situation hinders its ability to act. Font Bona is in the process of being received by the City Council, but Selva Brava has not yet started the process. At the end of the last mandate, the Consistory unanimously approved allocating 1.5 million euros to channel drinking water to the two neighborhoods, of which around 553,000 euros will be provided by the Catalan Water Agency. The new pipeline will make it possible to guarantee that the City Council will take over the management of the water supply service in the two towns.
