Rome And Other Italian Cities Are Running Dry
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Government
Rome and its water company are working hard to avoid rationing during a nationwide drought, Italy's environment minister said.
Rome, Source: Public Domain Pictures
Scarce rain and chronically leaky aqueducts have combined this summer to hurt farmers in much of Italy and put Romans at risk for drastic water rationing.
But Environment Minister Gian Luca Galletti told reporters that while Rome's situation "worries me most" both the city and the Acea water utility are "working out a solution that can avoid having hundreds of thousands of Roman citizens go without water."
He called that scenario "unacceptable." Galletti also decried as "intolerable" chronic leaks that lose some 40 percent of the water supply before it reaches users.
Last week, the governor of Lazio, the region including Rome, ordered a halt to drawing water from the drought-suffering Lake Bracciano, which supplies 8 percent of Rome's water. Gov. Nicola Zingaretti urged Acea to find water from other reservoirs instead. Drastically decreasing water levels are posing danger to the aquatic life of the lake, 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the city.
Meteorologists say Italy experienced one of its driest springs in some 60 years and that some parts of the country had seen rainfall totals 80 percent below normal. Among the hardest-hit regions is Sardinia, which is seeking natural disaster status.
The Farmers' lobby Coldiretti has estimated 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) worth of damage so far to Italian agriculture. Dairy farmers are lamenting drops in milk production. Among those suffering are farmers growing tomatoes in the southeastern region of Puglia, wine grapes throughout much of Italy and those cultivating olives — all signature crops for the nation.
Another afflicted area is Parma, an area in north-central Italy renowned for Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and prized prosciutto.
Earlier this week, Vatican City turned off its fountains due to the drought.
In Rome famed, monumental fountains beloved by tourists risk being turned off.
Italy's drought
- 60% of farmland under threat
- 10 regions prepare natural calamity requests
- Estimated cost to agriculture is €2bn
- Dairy farmers, wine grapes and olive production among the worst hit
- Rome, the capital, faces water rationing
- Some of the city's drinking fountains have been shut
Media
Taxonomy
- Water Access
- Water Supply
- Integrated Urban Water Management
- Drought
- Urban Water
- Water Supply
- Urban Water Infrastructure