Premier: Villages in Eastern Slovakia Have Problem with Water after Earthquake

        Kamenica nad Cirochou, January 23 (TASR) - There is a problem with water in the villages in the east of Slovakia affected by last year's earthquake, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) said following the away-from-home session of Government in Kamenica nad Cirochou in Presov region.
        "Water quality tests were carried out, and in practically 95 percent of these tests it was shown that the parameters regarding the quality of drinking water have deteriorated significantly. In addition, mayors report that there is also a loss of water in the wells, so we have another practical problem where we'll have to help towns and villages," said Fico.
        Environment Minister Tomas Taraba (a Slovak National Party/SNS nominee) stated that if they want to address this comprehensively, eastern Slovakia needs a new reservoir. "That's why I'm shocked that once again the previous management [of the Environment Ministry] decided with a decision of one pen that, for example, [state-run] Vodohospodarska vystavba [Water Management Construction], that is the one responsible for the construction of reservoirs in Slovakia, had to suspend two projects that were supposed to deal with this very thing," he stressed.
        If the situation is a complete emergency, he sees the only possibility in an emergency method of supplying drinking water to the affected localities. According to the minister, the long-term solution is that eastern Slovakia will get a new reservoir that could stabilise the situation.
Eastern Slovakia was shaken by a magnitude 4.9 earthquake on October 9, 2023, with the epicentre located near Dapalovce in Presov region. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 17.8 kilometres. The tremors were registered in multiple areas in both Presov and Kosice regions.