“The current scenario, supported byEuropean Drought Observatoryis of a red alert for the great aridity, precursor of desertification, on over 50% of the territories in Sicily, Puglia and Basilicatato which add coastal areas of Calabria and Sardinia, as well as areas located along the Apennine ridge and the Adriatic strip” thus Massimo GarganoGeneral Director of Anbi, commented on the current dramatic conditions of Sicilian water reserves.
There is great concern for the island’s reservoirs, which are already in extremely critical conditions in mid-June, considering temperatures consistently above 30° up to 40°, and the absence of rain on the horizon.
The situation is the same for groundwater: it is estimated that the lowering of the water table on the slopes of Etna is equal to 20 metres; the Fiumefreddo aquifer, on which the water supply of 70% of the city of Messina depends, has dropped by at least 15 meters and the level has come dangerously close to the level below which it can no longer be withdrawn.
The severity of the conditions is such that it is clear from the minutes of the Basin Authority that this is also taken into consideration the resumption of water withdrawals from wells contaminated by nitrates, following purification of the water before use. An eventuality that could materialize especially in tourist areas, where over 10 million guests are expected in the high season.
Among these, there are also the high lands of the island, such as Etna. “I have been managing this refuge for more than ten years and here we don’t have water like in the Alps – he comments Daniel Pennisthemanager of Citelli refuge at 1,740 meters on Etna – here the water in summer always arrives exclusively with tankerswhile in winter when it snows, we collect water from the snow and use a filter system.”
“There are tankers that go up and down every day for all the activities and they are all managed by private services, there are no municipal services that carry out transport for us operators – continues the refugee -. In the In recent years we have struggled to get ahead because transport costs are increasing and consumption is also increasing dramatically because since the refuge can be reached from the asphalt, especially in summer, buses and various jeep tours arrive, minibuses almost exclusively to make visitors go to the bathroom and therefore the expense is quite high”.
Pennisi, who has been managing the refuge for a decade but has lived and frequented the area since much earlier, can count on a remarkable historical memory of the meteorological conditions and their evolution over time: “Until around 2015 we could count on a certain stability : in winter it almost always snowed and in summer there were the classic afternoon summer storms, so we had a good supply of water, but this has completely changed in recent years, because it has essentially stopped raining in the summer”.
The local meteorology, explains the refugee, has varied a lot over the years: “The prevailing winds have changed, and consequently also the disturbances they cause. Everything has changed a bit and in recent years we have seen things change from year to year, we can no longer talk about decades to see changes, but about years”.
“We have always been very attentive and very interested in meteorology – says Pennisi – and in fact we are also part of the network of the “Sentinel shelters of the climate and the environment” project of the Italian Alpine Club and we were the first to activate the station” (a project we talked about here).
“There is no shortage of difficulties – says the manager of the Citelli Refuge – this year we haven’t stopped picking up the tanker even during the winter and our structure works mainly in the summer season, so any difficulties that arise can cause big problems, but we stay because we are damn in love with this place. This is a living mountain, which changes every day, changes with each eruptive event, it is always different and living on it allows you to see it and experience it in all its nuances.”
