We are FCC - Nº12

The La Selva Regional Council and Aqualia, the company that manages the Anglès Municipal Water Service, have signed an agreement to gua- rantee access to drinking water for the citizens of this municipality who are in a situation of energy poverty and economic vulnerability and can- not pay their water bills. For this reason, Aqualia has created a Social Solidarity Fund to provide economic coverage and avoid cut- ting off the supply of drinking water to people in serious difficulty. The sum of 1,500 euros is paid for by Aqualia on a non-refundable basis, without this amount affecting the balance of the concession. The aid entails exemption from the debt corresponding to water con- sumption, including taxes and duties, in those households that are in a pre- carious situation. This agreement is part of the com- pany’s commitment to all the munici- palities in which it provides services to provide both technical and social solutions for the benefit of citizens. In this sense, Manel Gómez, Aqua- lia’s the head of the Barcelona and Girona branch office, stated that “water is a basic good of primary need and, therefore, a human right that everyone must have guaran- teed; for this reason, from Aqualia we propose mechanisms that allow us to continue providing the service to people in need, thus ensuring that no one can be deprived of this good for economic reasons. Our role as a company specialising in the mana- Consell Comarcal de la Selva (La Selva Regional Council)and Aqualia sign an agreement to guarantee access to water for families without resources in Anglès (Girona) gement of public services is not only to offer the best technical responses for the economic and environmental sustainability of the service, but also to undertake, together with the public administrations, actions to guarantee social sustainability”. The mayor of Anglès, Àstrid Desset, thanked Aqualia for its “sensitivity” and appreciated that “in addition to managing the municipal water servi- ce for years, it has decided to take a step forward and help people who cannot pay their water bills”. For his part, the president of the Re- gional Council of La Selva, Salvador Balliu, said that “a growing number of families are having difficulty paying their housing costs and this merger between the administration and the company shows that by working to- gether and with the same objective, great results can be achieved for the benefit of citizens”. People who meet the requirements established in the regulatory bases can apply to the Social Services of Anglès Town Council or to the Re- gional Social Services, which will as- sess the suitability of granting the aid in each specific case. R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y 39 R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y