A construction site, two huge tanks filled with groundwater, and mosquitoes. This is enough to worry residents of the buildings between Via Campeda and Via Mandrolisai, in the San Michele neighborhood, where public works are underway to reduce the risk of flooding in the event of heavy rains.
The situation, according to those living in the buildings across the street, has been like this for several days. "For weeks, there's been a huge pool of cloudy, greenish, and smelly water in front of my house," explains Giuseppino Pili, who has written to the Local Health Authority and the Municipality asking for action.
The photos speak for themselves. What worries the elderly resident, in a summer marked by the resurgence of West Nile fever , a disease transmitted primarily by mosquitoes, is precisely the presence of these insects. There's also a detail: in early August, a survey conducted by the local health authority, along with the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Sardinia and the Metropolitan City Insect Control Center, confirmed the presence of the virus in some mosquitoes captured in the area of the San Michele cemetery , which is a few hundred meters away.
"The most worrying aspect," says the daughter, "is its proximity: the construction site is just a street away from the San Michele cemetery, precisely one of the areas where the Local Health Authority confirmed positive West Nile virus (WNV) infections in some mosquitoes. So, we're not talking about a generic proximity to the San Michele area, but rather a huge backwater located practically next to the site where the virus was detected in mosquitoes."
Upon receiving the report, the Local Health Authority's prevention department requested an "urgent cleanup" from the company carrying out the work, especially considering the current heat and the risk that such a large amount of water could become an ideal habitat for mosquito breeding. "Considering the current climate situation, coupled with the current health risk due to the negative effects this body of water may have on human health, a breeding ground for unwanted animal species, including those that carry the West Nile virus, the cleanup of the site is deemed urgent."
The notification was also forwarded to the NAS Carabinieri and the Municipality, which issued an order from the Public Works department to empty the tanks of groundwater.
So a week ago, the cleanup of the excavations began : "The pumps to suck up the water were only in operation for a few hours," complains the resident, assisted in reporting by his daughter. " The water is still essentially the same and the announced cleanup has not been completed."
