In Sicily, desalination plants are operating at full capacity, but the water networks are struggling

The facilities are designed to accommodate future expansion: for Gela and Trapani, the plans envisage a long-term capacity of 192 litres per second, whilst in Porto Empedocle, plans had also been made to modernise the fixed plant, but the project was subsequently shelved.

“The reserves that have been built up, together with those secured through work on wells and distribution networks, as well as the contribution from the three desalination plants,” said the President of the Region, Renato Schifani, in May, “mean that we can now manage our water supply without having to deal with water shortages.”

However, in some areas, the norm remains rotational collection. In the Agrigento area, the operator Aica continues to organise the service using schedules and tankers.

In Trapani, the local council plans to supply water on alternate days between the old town and the new town.

In Gela, residents received water every other day in June.

In May, the Region had stated that the resources available for the remainder of 2026 were more than sufficient. The problem is no longer simply finding water: it is transporting and distributing it on a continuous basis. ARERA had highlighted this in January 2025: the increase in availability should have been accompanied by measures across the entire supply chain.

Figures from the River Basin Authority – of which Carmelo Frittitta is acting secretary-general – explain why: average losses are often between 45 per cent and over 55 per cent and, at regional level, around half of the water supplied is lost. Trapani, Agrigento and Caltanissetta are among the areas where water rationing is systematic. Investment is taking place, but it remains difficult to measure the impact on service provision. In the Agrigento area, the ‘Knowledge Project’ aims to digitise and organise the networks into districts; in the Trapani area, the Area Plan approved in June provides for over 806 million in investment and a single operator; in Gela, Siciliacque has completed 3.9 kilometres of new pipeline between San Leo and the Caposoprano and Montelungo reservoirs, with an estimated recovery of 100,000 cubic metres per year. However, water rationing and service disruptions persist.

Then there is the issue of the model. In the Pelagie Islands, project financing has been ensuring the production of desalinated water for over ten years.

Palermo was also looking to that precedent: two plants, one to the east and one to the west of the metropolitan area, an investment of 180 million, of which 170 million from the private sector and up to 10 million from the public sector, with an expected output of between 600 and 1,000 litres per second and a 30-year concession. The call for proposals was published on 16 May 2025, with an initial deadline of 25 July, which was subsequently extended to 23 October. The procedure, managed by Invitalia as the central contracting authority and provider of technical and operational support, received six proposals. No final decisions have been taken since then.

Meanwhile, on 5 February 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the promoter’s right of first refusal in project financing – which was also provided for in the Palermo call for tenders – was incompatible with European law: a factor that may have affected the process, although the Region did not cite it as the reason for the suspension.

“The experience in Sicily demonstrates one simple thing,” says Luigi Patìmo, Acciona’s country manager in Italia, “namely that when the public administration chooses the most appropriate tendering procedure and relies on specialists who really understand the technologies, results are achieved and the plants work.”

‘When, on the other hand, procedures and settings are got wrong, the consequences are plain for all to see: wasted resources, legal disputes and plants that remain at a standstill. It is not a matter of luck, but of administrative ability and technical expertise.’