The emergency does not subside drought in Italy. From Piedmont to Sicily, the count of damage to agriculture and inconvenience to families is constantly updated. The Council of Ministers has declared a state of emergency in Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto, but all of Italy suffers from a lack of water. The state of emergency will last throughout 2022, but drinking water rationing remains in any case a limit solution for extreme circumstances.
The government, apart from the continuous dialogue with the Regions for the most immediate interventions, has launched the decree for water reuse. A provision of 600 million euros from the Ministry of Ecological Transition which commits a part of the sums provided for by a specific measure of the PNRR. It is a strategic objective with respect to the existing purifier network, some of which are not in perfect condition. But the government also provides for the allocation of €36,5 million for the National Emergency Fund for the Regions of Emilia-Romagna (10,9 million), Friuli Venezia Giulia (4,2 million), Lombardy (9 million), Piedmont (7,6 million) and Veneto (4,8 million).
Drought in Italy: 600 million to be used for more efficient projects
The Ministry of Ecological Transition with its provision will finance projects capable of making the purification of waste water discharged into the sea and inland waters more effective. For some, ecological adjustment is foreseen for the reuse of purified waste water for irrigation and for industry. They are produced every year in Italy 9 billion cubic meters of purified water, but – says Utilitalia – only 2,5% is reused. In recent days agricultural organizations have returned to complain about the chronic lack of reservoirs, useful for containing water especially during periods of drought and then circulating. In the past they had already opened a comparison table also with the EU, with less than excellent results.
Times too long for new construction sites
The decree contains the resources and criteria to be met in order to access funding. The projects, as in the entire PNRR, must be feasible, have sustainability and efficiency criteria. In total, the Plan up to 2026 has a ceiling of around 4 billion of Euro. Once again, as established by Parliament, 40% of the resources will go to the southern regions. Those, that is, that "have critical situations related to the lack of adaptation of the water system to the provisions of the European Directives of the sector", clarified the Mite. Moreover, even the demand for drinking water in Italy remains above European standards: 215 liters per inhabitant per day, against a European average of 125 litres. With the networks that lose even 50% the situation worsens. On everything weighs the bureaucratic administrative machine, which employs up to 5 years before giving the green light to a construction site. Times that drought does not consider.
