WORLD WORLDWIDE ITALY SICILIA News Journal Update - (en) Sicilia Libertaria 2-24: State of permanent drought (ca, de, it, pt, tr) [machine translation]

 There are no longer the droughts of the past. Previously, at least, the

lack of water on the island was only felt in summer. Provinces such as
those of Agrigento and Caltanissetta, above all, every year had, and
must, deal with the same script: dry taps in homes for days and weeks,
agricultural production that sustains only thanks to the extensive use
of greenhouses, farmers in knee forced to refuel from expensive tankers.
---- Between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, however, we
witnessed an unprecedented winter drought in the whole of Sicily for the
first time. In reality, the signs had already been evident for some time
but we preferred not to see them, concentrated as we are on a citizen
vision of the world, in which our yardstick becomes the supermarket
shelf: if I can continue to buy strawberries in the winter , bananas
from Ecuador or avocados from Chile, where is the problem? And yet for
years the oranges in the Catania plain have been getting smaller, for
years the expanses of vines in the province of Trapani have been
thinning out, for years farmers have preferred legumes (which need
little water) to tomatoes (which instead require a lot). In January
there was never any talk of water rationing, which instead took place in
39 municipalities, and of irrigation bans almost everywhere.

But the data is impressive: according to a recent report from the Anbi
(the national association of land and irrigation water management and
protection consortia), in Sicily the second half of 2023 was the driest
for over a century. It has also been calculated that to re-establish a
condition of semi-normality, which could still save an agricultural
season already on the ropes, 54 billion cubic meters of water would be
needed. Something simply impossible, because the ongoing climate changes
are here to stay and indeed increase in intensity, and because the
mismanagement of the water network, at the same time, is something
structural.

For decades Sicily has not broken free from the horrendous record of
water dispersion, chronically stable at more or less around 50%. And on
the other hand it is known that it rains less and less and worse, in the
sense that the data, already worrying, must be further contextualised
because there is less constant but more intense rainfall (the so-called
extreme meteorological events), with the havoc of the Sicilian dams who
are forced to discharge excess water. With the shortage of reservoirs,
hydroelectric energy is also affected which, at a national level, is
still the most widespread renewable energy. Instead, the latest regional
data says that compared to last month there is 12% less water in the
dams. The decline is greatest on the most vulnerable reservoirs: Fanaco
and Rosamarina, in the Palermo hinterland; Pozzillo, in the province of
Enna, which is at an all-time low. To this dramatic scenario it must be
added that the situation is destined to worsen. Suffice it to say that
the African anticyclone, which until now had remained over Spain, is
about to move over Italy, and this means that we can forget about the
showers. It is also worth adding that dry dams also mean less energy,
given that in Sicily eight reservoirs are intended for the production of
hydroelectric energy.

As we write we learn that the national commissioner for the water
emergency has summoned all the basin authorities in Rome. Explaining
that the focus will be above all on Sicily and Sardinia. The Sicilian
Region has made it known that it has asked for 150 million euros for
immediate interventions on reservoirs and pipelines, for projects that
have existed for some time but are somehow blocked. A source within the
region let us know that Schifani's government should soon finally
unblock the establishment of the permanent observatory on water uses.
The first step should be to declare a high severity state for drought.
So much for it, what power! What a wonderful intervention, what an
incredible novelty! The objective, obviously, is to pressure the Meloni
government to immediately release the necessary money. But the fascist
bass drum in power is more interested in renewing the expropriations of
the bridge and differentiated autonomy.

Circumstances such as the fiery days of July 2023, with the city of
Catania without water for two weeks, are destined to repeat themselves
and become more constant, as the recent case of water rationing in
Barcelona also teaches. The next candidate in this sense is Palermo,
where there is one of the worst water networks in Italy. In short, a
slow-motion dystopia is emerging in front of us, in which we will have
to fight for access to water, for a resource that we still take for
granted. What seems clear is that Sicily is heading towards a state of
permanent drought. We must understand from now on that on this front the
state is the enemy and can be neither an ally nor an interlocutor,
interested as it is in guaranteeing financial returns to giants such as
Nestlè (who have cornered a precious source in Santo Stefano di
Quisquina), to profit from water concessions and the impotence of
reclamation consortia. Less water available means more state control,
more manipulation of populations starting from primary needs.

If it is true that historically water has always been a source of
conflicts, it is equally undeniable that so far the priorities of the
fight over it, at least in Sicily, have focused on other aspects, from
contamination to waste. This is why now we need a paradigm shift, even
in the demands. There will be less and less water, due to a system that
has created the conditions for its lack. So if we want access to water
to still be guaranteed for everyone, all we have to do is overturn the
development model that is making us thirsty.

A.T.

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/
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