Agrigento faces a serious water crisis in 2024. Drought and water shortages are causing a tourist exodus, putting the local economy in crisis.
Agrigento grappling with an unprecedented water crisis
Agrigento, a city known for its thousand-year history and its enchanting cultural heritage, is now facing an unprecedented water crisis that is bringing not only its inhabitants, but also the entire tourism sector to its knees. The drought has led to water supply shifts of up to 12 days, causing serious inconvenience and concern among residents and tourists.
The Damage to the Image of Tourism
Francesco Picarella, manager of Federalberghi and owner of the Hotel del Viale, declared: “More and more often, before booking, customers ask us if there is regular availability of water in our rooms. I believe that this is enough to highlight the devastating image damage that our territory is suffering in the summer preceding the year in which Agrigento will be the Italian Capital of Culture”.
The Difficulties of Accommodation Facilities
The accommodation facilities, despite efforts to mask the difficulties, are suffering serious repercussions. “We are well structured, we try not to make tourists perceive the difficulties we have”, continues Picarella, “It is clear, however, that it is frustrating to do business in these conditions, in a cursed land like ours, where while the taps are dry the half of the water is lost underground and on the streets due to a leaky water network”.
Testimonials from Sector Operators
Angelo Agosto, owner of ‘Il Giardino Antico’, a holiday home with four beds, had to install two cisterns to meet his water needs. “Unfortunately the situation is complicated, if it continues like this I fear that in two months I will be forced to close and cancel the reservations I have already received,” he says worriedly.
The situation is equally critical for Giovanni Lopez, owner of the Bed & Breakfast ‘Le Cinque Novelle’, who has adopted extraordinary measures to save water, such as replacing the aerators of the taps and showers. “People rightly ask us for reassurance before coming, but we don’t know what to answer, we are neither the municipality nor Aica (the public company that manages water resources in the province). A situation which, from Agrigento to Sciacca, from Licata to Menfi, affects the entire tourist accommodation sector, which risks serious economic consequences in a production sector which, in fact, is the only one on which this territory can count”.
The Voice of the Tourist Associations
The tourist association “Many houses, many ideas” confirms the worrying trend of cancellations. Domenico Vecchio, president of the association, declared:
“We find ourselves facing a situation in which we are severely damaged. On the one hand we are forced to supply ourselves with water by purchasing it independently (with exhausting waiting shifts). On the other hand, we have to deal with continuous cancellations of reservations.
In a city that thrives on seasonality, tourist facilities and all related activities are heavily penalized by this situation.
We ask to meet the competent authorities to understand what is being done to stem the emergency and what to report to our guests.
Please remember that hundreds of families survive thanks to non-hotel tourist activities, who have no choice but to give up everything and go and seek their fortune elsewhere”.
Requests for Intervention and Protests
The Agrigento social cartel has sent an open letter to the President of the Region, Renato Schifani, asking for an urgent meeting to discuss the water crisis.
The letter, signed by representatives of dioceses and unions, reads: “People feel cheated, we ask for a meeting.”
The request includes mediation between Siciliacque and Aica to resolve the problems of the population, which has been on its knees for weeks due to the lack of water.
Possible Solutions and the Future of Tourism
While the tankers, a temporary but necessary tool, continue to fail to meet the needs of the population and tourists, the mayor of Agrigento, Francesco Micciché, states: “We are doing extensive work on the B&Bs, diverting more shifts to the structures in the historic centre.
To face the summer we asked Siciliacque to increase the supply for Agrigento”. However, the long-term solution could be the Porto Empedocle watermaker, even if the timing for reactivating it remains uncertain.
The water crisis in Agrigento, if not addressed with urgency and determination, risks compromising not only the tourist season, but also the image and future prosperity of the city which is preparing to become the Italian Capital of Culture in 2025. A situation that requires structural interventions and immediate solutions to guarantee the economic and social survival of this precious territory.
For further updates, follow our website agrigentoierieoggi.it, our Facebook page and our YouTube channel. Furthermore, we invite you to purchase the books edited by the historian Elio Di Bella on Amazon, which you can find at the bottom of the home page of the site.
