Chirtoaca anticipates protests over water surcharge

Chisinau Mayor Dorin Chirtoaca is expecting protests from people disgruntled by the recent decision to include a charge in water bills to compensate for the difference in the readings of the apartment and building water meters. Nevertheless, people will have to pay, the mayor insists. The mayor has noted that while the utility Apa-Cana Chisinau supplies 15 million cubic meters of water a month and consumers account for only 11 million, 4 million remain unpaid. “In this situation we act like hypocrites, we don't want to admit receiving a certain amount of water”, the mayor stated after a dozen of people picketed the City Hall on Thursday. Chirtoaca also criticized the Communist Party for instigating people to protest, remarking that it held the majority in the City Council and thus it was it's duty to support Apa-Canal, a municipal enterprise. Consumers in Chisinau will pay more for water starting from November. An extra cubic meter of cold water and another one of hot water will be added to each bill to reduce the difference in meter readings. By preliminary estimates, November bills will be on average by 50 lei bigger.