More than half a million people in Slovakia have no access to clean water.
Even today, hundreds of communities in Slovakia have neither a public water supply nor a sewerage system. Only a third of municipalities have a comprehensive water supply. These problems have existed for decades and affect the whole country. In the southern Slovakian village of Pavlová, for example, all two hundred inhabitants rely on their own wells. But their water is often undrinkable and contains high levels of faecal matter. As a result, they have to buy their drinking water and build their own treatment plants.
The state now wants to solve this problem and has earmarked hundreds of millions of euros for this purpose. According to Michal Sabo, a member of parliament from the opposition party PS (Progressive Slovakia), it is high time: “It is alarming that in an EU member state, especially considering the money and time available, the state of critical infrastructure is truly catastrophic.”
Ľubomír Andrassy, chairman of the National Audit Office (NKÚ), blames a lack of interest on the part of the state, poor management by water companies and a dysfunctional system: “The system cannot generate money to repair the existing water infrastructure, nor can it provide the necessary resources to expand it.”
The mayors of many communities, especially smaller ones, are often helpless without the support of the state or the water companies. They are often unable to overcome bureaucratic hurdles and obtain the necessary co-financing to expand their water infrastructure.
The solution, according to the Court’s president, lies in a more active approach by the state and water companies. This includes, above all, the efficient administration and distribution of EU funds: “Only if we start to tackle this problem actively with action plans can we prevent Slovakia from having to pay millions in fines to Brussels because we have not done our homework.”
Meanwhile, the state has promised €350 million in aid to municipalities. Part of this will come from European Union funds. The relevant government departments have until 31 March this year to come up with a solution.
“The draft plan for the construction of public water and sewerage systems is at the preparatory stage”, says the Ministry of Investment and Regional Development. However, the ministry did not want to answer the question of when all municipalities in Slovakia could have a water supply.
