Councillors to quit as village runs dry

SEVEN councillors in Benizalon Town Hall (Almeria) have threatened to resign and close the town hall unless they have running water by April 30. The five Partido Popular and two PSOE councillors of the 300-inhabitant town say they have been without drinking water since the water in local wells was considered unfit for human consumption in May last year because it contained traces of uranium.

Since then, they have requested help from different administrations with no success.

There are not enough municipal funds to continue paying for the tankers of water which bring 25,000 litres per day to the town, so they have decided to take more drastic measures.

If they are not granted help, on April 30 they will cease to pay for the tankers and hand the keys over to the administrations so they will have to pay for the service.

The town has a yearly budget of €400,000 but by the end of the month their debt with the water providers will amount to €100,000.

The mayor, Emilio Cid, is especially disappointed with the response from the provincial government, where he was made to wait for four months for a meeting and given no solution whatsoever.

The town hall was also refused help by the General Management for Civil Protection, who they asked for help in June 2010 under a decree for funds in case of emergency.

Meanwhile, the mayor claims that the lack of coordination between the Health Council and the Andalucian Water Agency has prevented the water purification plant from opening, although it should have opened last summer. It is hoped it will be open this summer.

 

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