In one year, the cubic meters of water in the main water basins of Basilicata decreased by 193 million. In percentage terms, there was an average decrease of 39 percent in June 2024, compared to the same month last year. This is what emerges from the analysis of a report by Acquedotto Lucano that has the eloquent title of “state of water emergency”. In particular, the report shows how “almost all of Basilicata is affected by drought phenomena ranging from extreme values to mild values”. “The situation – they wrote in the report – has worsened due to the absence of rain in the month of June 2024 and, based on forecasts for the coming months, is destined for a further recrudescence”. The drought phenomenon has produced the numerical consequences detailed in a diagram that highlights how the water basin that has suffered the greatest decline is that of Gannano, in the Matera territory of Tursi and Stigliano, with 85 percent less, while the one that has suffered the least reduction is that of Camastra (minus nine percent), in the basin of the Basento river. At present, the Monte Cotugno dam (in the territory of Senise in the Potentino), the largest in Basilicata, contains approximately 166 million cubic meters of water compared to 283 million last year (minus 42 percent); for the rest, the 115 million cubic meters of Pertusillo (in the Agri river basin) became 95.5 million in 2024 (minus 17 percent), a 68 percent drop was recorded in the San Giuliano reservoir in the territories of Miglionico and Grottole (Matera), where it went from 69 million to 22, finally in Basentello (on the border between Puglia and Basilicata) the drop recorded was 57 percent with the almost nine million that became 3.7.
