Water, Anbi alarm: “Po and Arno -30%”

A water crisis is looming also in Italy with the Po and the Arno at -30% while in Basilicata there are 10 million cubic meters missing and in Abruzzo the gap is 2 million cubic meters. According to the latest surveys of the Anbi Observatory on water resources, the flow rates of the water courses in the Po river basin are collapsing, where temperatures up to 3 degrees higher than the average of the past 20 years are recorded. The most evident drops are recorded with the Maira and Tanaro rivers in Piedmont while, in Emilia, the Savio drops further and the Enza flows are well below the historical minimum. The National Association of Land and Irrigated Water Management and Protection Consortia reports that there are several areas of the Po district at risk of drought: Biella, Asti, Cuneo and the city of Turin, in Piedmont; Romagna and the areas of the Po Delta (Ferrara and Rovigo), where the threat of intrusion from the saline wedge increases; under observation are the Emilian areas of Piacentino and Parma; in Lombardy the drop in water reserves is drastic: – 8.5% in the past week (source: River Po District Authority). “It is a very worrying condition that in the short term will require consultation between all stakeholders, but also programmed solutions to reduce the risks of these recurrent droughts” commented Francesco Vincenzi, president of the National Association of Management and the Protection of the Territory and Irrigation Waters (Anbi). “In this context, the basin and lake plan, elaborated with Coldiretti, is the first concrete response for water, for drinking and for energy production with the relative contribution to the national economy”, Vincenzi points out, indicating that “recover all the water that fall is the real country challenge “. And summer 2021 looks set to be one of the driest seasons of the recent decade in Sicily. But according to the estimate that comes from the Anbi Observatory on water resources, Sicily will not be the only region to have to deal with a possible water crisis, even the water availability in the Apulia reservoirs has dropped by over 15 million cubic meters in 7 days. The Anbi reports that in Campania, the Sele, Volturno and Garigliano rivers are decreasing but remain above the average of the recent four-year period while water availability in the Cilento reservoirs is decreasing. In Basilicata, the basins mark -10 million cubic meters in a week, they were -7 in the same week of 2020. The flow rates of the rivers in Lazio remain substantially stable, while the levels of the Bracciano and especially Nemi lakes are decreasing (- 12 centimeters in a week), where in June only mm. 17.6 of rain. The lack of rain is also at the basis of the deficit situation for the water volumes retained in the Penne dam in Abruzzo, which fell by almost 2 million cubic meters in a month and practically halved compared to previous years: today they are Mmc. 3.93 but they were Mmc. 7.66 in 2018 and even Mmc. 9.5 in 2016. “The National Relaunch and Resilience Plan is an extraordinary opportunity, which we must seize” underlines Massimo Gargano, General Manager of Anbi. “We, with the Plan for the Efficiency of the Hydraulic Network, offer concrete opportunities for an investment of approximately 4 billion and 400 million euros, capable of guaranteeing over 21,000 jobs” finally indicates the Anbi CEO. (by Andreana d’Aquino)