Water for irrigation uses, to guarantee agricultural production. A meeting took place yesterday in the Council Room of the Municipality of Sciacca,
between the Councilor for Agriculture of the Municipality of Sciacca Francesco Dimino, the Councilor for Agriculture of the Municipality of Menfi Franco Gagliano, and the extraordinary commissioner of the Reclamation Consortium Baldo Giarraputo. The meeting was attended by trade organisations, spontaneous committees and farmers, who had the opportunity to ask questions and obtain clarifications directly from Commissioner Giarraputo. The initiative follows the recent note sent by the regional Water and Waste Department, which authorizes the withdrawal of 13 million cubic meters of water from Orange Lake for irrigation purposes. From the meeting – councilors Dimino and Gagliano say – it emerged that the pipelines are currently already under pressure and that, starting next week, we will be able to start irrigating tree crops, olive groves, vineyards and citrus groves again. However, given the reduced availability of water, the volumes available for the various crops will be reduced. Furthermore, for small withdrawals necessary to guarantee emergency irrigation of the planted crops, as provided for by the Commissioner’s Ordinance of 10 April 2024, by communicating to the Provincial Agriculture Inspectorate it will be possible to draw from the beds of public watercourses . Furthermore, the possibility of reactivating the abandoned wells in the areas benefiting from irrigation is also being evaluated, with the technical and instrumental support provided by the Reclamation Consortium. From the meeting it also emerged, on the proposal of those present, that the water from Orange Lake should be distributed exclusively for agricultural crops and not for other purposes. The councilors Francesco Dimino and Franco Gagliano underlined how the meeting was fundamental in giving a clear picture to the farmers: “In a dramatic situation like the current one – declare the two councilors – the farmers now know that they will be able to count on these irrigations of The administrations of Sciacca and Menfi are alongside the farmers, fully understanding the difficulties they are experiencing.” Councilor Francesco Dimino also announced that in the coming weeks a technical table will be held between AICA, the Agrigento 3 Reclamation Consortium and the Municipality of Sciacca to discuss the possible reuse of waste water from the Sciacca purifier. This medium-long term solution – says councilor Dimino – could be decisive for reviving agriculture in our area.
