A Piedmont official stated on Tuesday the region has run out of water reserves due to Italy’s severe drought. A Marshall Plan is in preparation by the regional authority to deal with the Piedmont drought.
Piedmont’s Environment Chief told a news conference, the region has run out of water reserves. “We have to save every litre of drinking water that is available because the reserves have run out,” Matteo Marnati told said.
“The water that is coming down is glacier water, which, unfortunately, is due to the melting of glaciers. So it’s not good news because water is arriving, but we are losing our reserves”.
Marnati said Piedmont was preparing a Marshall Pan for its water infrastructure with investments of close of one billion euros up to 2026.
The drought and a series of heat waves is causing massive problems for agriculture, with farmer’s association Coldiretti reporting drops in crop yields of up to 45% in some cases.
Water restrictions are already in place in Piedmont.
READ: Government declarres drought state of emergency
Not the only Italian region suffering
Last week Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana said his region has almost run out of water for agriculture due to the drought.
Veneto Governor Luca Zaia said on Tuesday that saltwater intrusion has reached as far as 21 km from the mouth of the River Po for the first time due to the drought. Normal intrusion distance is 300-400 metres from the river mouth.
