Concern for the 2024 irrigation season, urgent request for alternative solutions
The 2024 irrigation season promises to be critical in the Stornara and Tara Reclamation Consortium area of Taranto. The CIA Agricoltori Italiani Puglia Area Due Mari, which covers the provinces of Taranto and Brindisi, has expressed deep concerns about the water situation in the western territory of the province of Taranto, including the municipalities from Ginosa to Palagianello, passing through Castellaneta.
Currently, the San Giuliano dam contains only 24,991,641 cubic meters of water, one of the lowest levels in the last twenty years, compared to 71,929,106 cubic meters for the same period in 2023. The amount of water is divided on paper at 50% between Puglia and Basilicata, but in practice Basilicata starts the irrigation season already in January, while Puglia has only recently started.
The situation had been known since January, but the management of the Stornara and Tara Consortium of Taranto was busy with the reorganization within the new Central South Consortium, neglecting to promptly inform farmers about the limited availability of water. Only recently was a notice published specifying the impossibility of guaranteeing water for horticultural crops.
The CIA Agricoltori Italiani Puglia urges the urgent activation of alternative sources to make up for the water shortage, such as unused wells, withdrawals from the Bradano river and use of water from purifiers. The new commissioner of the Consortium, Dr. Francesco Ferraro, has already taken measures to get water from the Monte Cotugno dam into the San Giuliano adductor canal, but the situation remains critical.
The CIA Area Due Mari has launched an appeal to politicians, mayors, the regional councilor for Agriculture Donato Pentassuglia and the president Michele Emiliano for immediate support and the finding of economic resources. The goal is to resolve the water crisis that seriously threatens local agricultural production.
