The sight of drinking water flowing down the edge of the sidewalk on the busy Popradská Street in Košice has outraged local residents. At a time when all of Slovakia, including the eastern region, is struggling with a prolonged drought, and water utilities are urging the public to conserve water, clean water is being wasted as it flows into the sewer system.
A resident named Petro brought the situation to light on social media after noticing the persistent leak. According to him, water has been leaking at this spot for several days now.
“Water has been leaking on Popradská Street for several days now… I guess we have too much of it during a drought like this…”
the resident remarked ironically in a post that immediately sparked a wave of reactions.
People have been reporting breakdowns for weeks, but solutions are slow to come
Several neighbors in the discussion confirmed that such problems are not uncommon in the city. One local resident noted that he had reported the problem at the specified address back in late September, but it still hadn’t been fixed.
Michal from Shipkova Street described a similar experience. Water had been leaking there since Friday, and in the evening, plumbers completely shut off the water supply. When residents asked about providing a replacement tank with drinking water, they received a strange response.
- Lack of equipment: According to reports, the Eastern Slovak Water Supply Company (VVS) has only four water tankers for the entire city of Košice and the surrounding area, and currently only two of them are operational.
- Long wait for repairs: Residents of the Furcha and Podhradie districts report that in some cases, water leaks went unaddressed by water utility workers for three to five weeks.
Water utilities are facing a surge in breakdowns due to the drought
The situation in the city is complicated by the generally unfavorable hydrological conditions. The Eastern Slovak Water Company has previously reported an increased number of breakdowns in the region’s water supply network.
Decreased soil moisture causes soil subsidence, which, in turn, leads to cracks in older pipes. More details and the latest developments in the eastern metropolis can be found in the original article on Košicak.sk.
Residents who notice a similar uncontrolled water leak in [their neighborhood [1.2.5]] should immediately report it to the water utility’s emergency hotline.
