Deputy Prime Minister Tanczos Barna harshly criticizes the way in which the drinking water crisis in Prahova and Dâmbovița was managed, accusing the lack of professionalism and the absence of responsibility on the part of those responsible. He calls for resignations, the restructuring of the supply system and says that the political dispute “it doesn’t help at all” at this point.
Deputy Prime Minister Tanczos Barna said on Wednesday, on TVR Info, that the situation created in Paltinu shows how serious it is when untrained people end up leading vital institutions.
“Sometimes, I get the impression that Dorel gets into management positions more and more often and ends up in companies that are vital companies from an energy point of view, from a water supply point of view or from an economic point of view for certain regions“, he stated.
Tanczos mentioned the comparison made by the Minister of the Environment, Diana Buzoianu, with the Praid disaster and criticized both Apele Române and ESZ Prahova SA, the companies involved in the water supply in the area.
“Something similar happened at Apele Romanian, and at ESZ, at these two companies that were responsible for the water supply potable in that region and none of them is thinking of resigning. They begin to accuse other institutions in one way or another, to throw the blame on each other and to create an impression on us while we begin to wonder if we, the ones who had nothing to do with the technical decisions, are to blame“, said the deputy prime minister.
“The number one priority is water for people”
Tanczos Barna states that the first step is to restart the water supply for the population. “There, first and foremost, they must now do their best to provide water. Because the people there are not interested in political arguments, nor in the end who is changed or not changed. There, the number one priority is securing water to restart the supply systems”he stated.
The Deputy Prime Minister calls for the dismissal and sanctioning of those responsible: “We cannot remain a state where mistakes at this level remain without repercussions and without consequences. Those people who were guilty of causing this disaster must go and will have to go and bear the consequences”.
Proposal for a new water supply structure
Tanczos Barna supports the establishment of a single distribution structure, following the model of other counties, eliminating intermediate companies.
“In order to prevent such incidents in the future, that water supply structure similar to the other counties must be created. That is, not two companies, not a company that is somehow intermediate between Romanian Water and the other companies. Romanian Water to supply water for a water company in the county (…) the same rules as in the other counties”explained the deputy prime minister.
He says that the new structure must be led by specialists: “In the other counties, those who run those water companies have been working in the field for decades and have experience. Here I see that there was a company where there was also a representative of a political party from the county who collected the salaries he collected and produced, look what he produces“.
“The political quarrel, now, does not help”
According to the deputy prime minister, the political tensions these days do not solve the real problem.
“The political quarrel, now, does not help. The assumption must be assumption at the political level as well, but I don’t think it helps us at the moment“, said Tanczos, recalling that Romania is in the last days of the electoral campaign.
He also gave an example from the energy sector: “On the energy side, things became clear very quickly. There, the interventions were immediate, prompt, resolved by Minister Ivan, and things there are at least under control“.
The Deputy Prime Minister concluded by emphasizing that mutual accusations do not bring water back into people’s homes and that the institutions must focus on concrete solutions.
We remind you that the drinking water supply in Prahova County was temporarily suspended starting from October 28, 2025, at 3:30 p.m. As a result of this measure, industries and companies that depended on this source had to impose restrictions, reduce the flow or even stop the activity completely, depending on the available resources.
The water crisis continues to affect several localities in the county, after the supply stop at the Paltinu Dam, caused by the extreme turbidity of the raw water. More than 107,000 people are currently without running water. Authorities have established the necessary technical steps to resume distribution and estimate that power could be restored as early as Monday, December 8.
