Italy is drying up: a plan to address water shortages and emergency for crisis areas

The Italian government surrounding Prime Minister Mario Draghi wants to declare a state of emergency due to water shortages and ongoing drought. A cabinet meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, according to Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s residence. Therefore, the government wants to declare a state of emergency in the areas most affected by drought.

2.7 billion euros for water infrastructure

This is intended to facilitate financing for regions so that they can take measures in favor of hard-hit agriculture. The government wants to allocate 1.38 billion euros to reduce water losses from the old Italian canals, with a focus on the south. From next year, the Draghi government will provide 2.7 billion euros to modernize and expand the national water infrastructure. The government mainly uses money from the EU-funded reconstruction program. In order to speed up the schedule of interventions, the government plans to simplify the regulations for the completion of projects.

Mara Carvagna, Minister of Southern Italy, has repeatedly highlighted the need to prioritize water issues, in particular within the framework of React-EU, the first solidarity and cohesion program launched after the pandemic, which will finance until 2023 work related to water systems in most countries . Important cities in the south. Cities like Enna and Palermo in Sicily and Naples should take advantage of this as well, modernizing hundreds of kilometers of lost aqueducts.

The water level of the Po River – Italy’s longest river – has fallen so low that salt water seeped to the river bed for miles at the mouth of the sea. In some places, the level is lower than it was 70 years ago. Cities like Pisa and Verona have recently restricted water use. Venice and Milan closed part of the fountains.