The climate emergency

Drought: here is the map of areas in the Centre and South at risk of water rationing

In Palermo, there is a move towards a further minimal reduction in pressure to allow greater water saving, while in Calabria, Governor Occhiuto declares a state of emergency

by Celestina Dominelli

28 July 2024

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4' min read

Key points

In Calabria, the governor declares a state of emergency
Map with different water severity scenarios
When the emergency is triggered
High Guard in Sicily
The most at-risk areas in Sardinia
Alarm in Crotone and Reggio Calabria
The most critical areas in Le Marche
The situation in Abruzzo, Lazio and Umbria

4' min read

The drought emergency is making its effects felt in Italy, especially in the south. In Palermo there is a further minimal reduction in water pressure to allow greater savings in the city where, at least for now, after the clash between the Region and Amap (the municipal company that manages the integrated water cycle), there will be no rationing measures. But the situation in the Sicilian capital and in other areas of the island remains very heavy, starting with Trapani where the lack of rainfall is causing serious consequences with the start of water supply shifts, while in Licata, in the Agrigento area, the tanker 'Ticino', made available by the Italian Navy, should mitigate, at least for now, the consequences of the water emergency that does not only concern Sicily.

In Calabria, the governor declares a state of emergency

In Calabria, in fact, the governor of the region, Roberto Occhiuto, has just declared a state of regional civil protection emergency, resulting from the situation of serious drinking water shortages in the territories of the province of Crotone and the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria, for which, on 24 July last, the Permanent Observatory on Water Uses in the Southern Apennine Hydrographic District declared a 'high' state of water severity, precisely for the hydro-drinking sector.

The map with the different water severity scenarios

In short, the lack of rainfall, especially in the South, is forcing local administrators to run for cover. But which are the areas most in difficulty where water-saving measures could be triggered? The map of red zones is periodically defined by the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Ispra), on the basis of the findings transmitted by the Permanent District Observatories for Water Uses, which carry out constant monitoring in the seven hydrographic districts into which the national territory is divided. This monitoring is carried out by classifying the territories with four water severity scenarios: 1) normal situation, i.e. non-critical scenario; 2) low water severity scenario (in which the water demand is still met but the indicators show a worsening trend; 3) medium water severity scenario, which is triggered when the critical status intensifies because the flow rates in the riverbed are lower than average and the high temperature determines a higher than normal water demand; 4) high water severity scenario.

When the emergency is triggered

The latter case occurs when all preventive measures have been taken but a critical state not reasonably foreseeable prevails, in which the water resource is not sufficient to avoid damage to the system, even irreversible damage. Therefore, the conditions exist for the declaration of a state of prolonged drought or, in more serious cases, for the possible request, by the Regions concerned, for the declaration of a state of national emergency, which is what has happened so far in Sicily and Calabria.

High Guard in Sicily

According to the checks collected by Ispra through the permanent district observatories, thesituation in Sicily continues, as mentioned, to be very worrying, so much so that the latest bulletin of the island's hydrographic district observatory speaks of 'high severity' that could lead to further measures to manage the resource more efficiently.

The most at-risk areas in Sardinia

In Sardinia, the water severity status is defined as 'medium', but looking at the local situations, the water systems of Posada, in the province of Nuoro, Alto Cixerri, in southern Sardinia, Alto Coghinas, in the Sassari area, in the North-West and in Ogliastra are critical. These are all areas in which there has been no shortage of interventions in recent months to partially shut down the water network in order to reduce the risks related to the failure to meet priority demand (drinking water, industrial, livestock and sanitation).

Alarm in Crotone and Reggio Calabria

The Observatory of the Southern Apennine hydrographic district, on the other hand, reports differing situations in terms of severity in the other regions of central and southern Italy. In particular, the water severity scenario is 1) high for the provinces of Crotone and Reggio Calabria and for the Basento-Camastra-Agri scheme; 2) medium with a tendency to high for the province of Chieti, in Abruzzo; 3) medium for Basilicata (with the exception of the Basento-Camastra-Agri scheme), Calabria (with the exception of the provinces of Reggio Calabria and Crotone), Molise, and the provinces of Avellino and Benevento; low to medium for the territories of Lazio and Abruzzo (with the exception of the province of Chieti) falling within the Southern Apennine river basin district, Puglia and the provinces of Caserta, Napoli and Salerno.

The most critical areas in the Marche

Remaining in the Central Regions, but looking at the picture taken by the Observatory of the Central Apennine hydrographic district. In the Marches, at the moment, particularly critical situations are recorded in the territory of ATO5-South Marches (Province of Fermo and Ascoli Piceno), where the effects of the significant reduction in the flow rate of some springs following the earthquake of 2016 persist, aggravated by the current drought situation; in the territory of ATO 1-Marche Nord (Province of Pesaro and Urbino) and ATO 3-Marche Centro (Province of Macerata and part of the Province of Ancona) there is a worsening of watercourses and minor springs, which show lower than average and decreasing flow rate values.

The situation in Abruzzo, Lazio and Umbria

Turning to Abruzzo and, in particular, to the territories of the three Chietino, Pescarese, and Teramano sub-areas, there is a significant decrease in the availability of the resource at some important supply sources, while in Lazio, especially in the territory of ATO2-Lazio Centrale (Province of Rome), the main critical issues concern the Apennine ridge, the site of the main aquifers. So much so that, it says, 'the continuation of the climatic conditions observed in recent months could lead to the need to implement measures to reduce pressures in the water networks and limit flow rates in the minor municipalities served by the manager'. Lastly, Umbria, where decreases in the flow rates of springs and watercourses have been reported, and a further drop in the level of Lake Trasimeno has been observed. And it is precisely in these territories that, according to the summary contained on the Ispra website, "the necessary measures must continue to be implemented to contain the effects of a foreseeable worsening of water severity. And it is necessary to adopt measures to save the resource and, where necessary, provide for the limitation of dissipative withdrawals for non-priority uses'.