Lake Pergusa, the only natural reservoir in Sicily, has now been reduced to a puddle: it is one of the dramatic consequences of the drought
Summer has just begun, but the torrid climate which hit Sicily a few weeks ago is already causing considerable damage. Due to the drought that has been raging on the island for some time, the lake of Pergusa – the only natural one in the entire region – has almost disappeared. Only a dark and smelly puddle remains, a sign not only of climate change, but also of the pollution that Legambiente has been trying to denounce for years.
Lake Pergusa, which disappeared due to drought
Sicily is certainly not a particularly rich region from a water point of view, but until a few hours ago it boasted at least one natural reservoir: we are talking about the lake of Pergusa, a small basin located near the city of Enna, where it has been known since ancient times. According to legend, the famous rape of Proserpina took place here, not to mention that numerous other mythological narratives are the backdrop. Moreover, the lake has always had great importance from a faunal point of viewbeing a place of migration for many birds.
Precisely because of its landscape, cultural and naturalistic value, a lake has been established around Lake Pergusa special nature reserve. But all this was not enough to avoid disaster: the drought of recent months and the problem of pollution have caused what experts have long feared. On June 26, 2024, Lake Pergusa has been officially declared extinct. Only a small muddy and smelly puddle remains, but the seabed has now undergone its total desertification.
In fact, Sicily has been in a water crisis for some time now: the lack of rain has brought entire towns to their knees, forcing the water rationing and other drastic control measures. The situation has certainly not improved with the arrival of summer, which has caused a new increase in temperatures – and we are probably only at the beginning. But it is not only the drought that has caused the disappearance of Lake Pergusa. Legambiente, in fact, had raised the alarm for some time due to thepollution.
The problem of pollution
“In these hours, after months of agony and after an incredible week of unbreathable miasmasLake Pergusa has almost completely disappeared, in its place remains a blackish patch of wet mud that is drying in the very hot sun of this summer that has just begun” – reads a note issued by Legambiente Sicilia. Environmentalists have been fighting for years for a Greater protection of what was a precious natural reserve, which has instead been left in a state of total neglect.
And so, the drought due to climate change was compounded by the neglect of a green area of great importance and the pollution that caused the disaster. In fact, for some time now general chemical-physical conditions of the lake they were no longer monitored. “We predicted it, Lake Pergusa would disappear by July. It happened before, with the summer solstice” – she declared bitterly Giuseppe Maria AmatoWater Resources Management representative of Legambiente Sicilia.
Now it’s time to do something, in the hope that the water basin can still be saved. According to what was stated by Fabio Venezia, signatory of the agenda of the last Regional Assembly, it is necessary to plan actions for the cleaning and maintenance of the efficiency of the rainwater supply channels of the lake, the separation of the sewage system and collection of surface runoff water from the village and the creation of settling systems in the two major gullies to avoid the accumulation of solid debris in the sub-horizontal parts of the tunnel.
