«The Sardinian countryside is dry, yet in many areas the water ends up in the sea. We need to act quickly."
This is the position taken by the Anbi (National Association of Irrigation Reclamation, which represents and protects the 7 Reclamation Consortia of the Island) which in a note photographs the current situation: «While in some agricultural areas of Sardinia one can breathe a sigh of relief, outside of the water emergency, in others restrictions are applied and, at the same time, we end up letting the water flow into the sea, without anyone acting to retain it and make it available".
And even if the reservoir situation is no longer as serious as it was a few weeks ago, when volumes were at historic lows, we must not let our guard down.
«With the last bulletin in February – underlines Anbi – there were 1025 million cubic meters of water in the system, equal to approximately 56.2% of the authorized useful regulation volume. An increase of 67 million cubic meters compared to January 2024."
«A step forward made solely and exclusively thanks to Mother Nature, comments Gavino Zirattu, president of Anbi Sardegna, underlining that «we cannot always rely on the clemency of the weather to make work in the countryside safe».
Thirst in Southern Sardinia – In Campidano, for example, the Southern Sardinia Reclamation Consortium had to warn its members that irrigation will be at 70 percent, compared to the standard of the previous year. Things are decidedly worse in Isili, «where in the absence of the allocation of water resources we risk not even being able to open the irrigation season», confirms president Efisio Perra.
«And yet – continues Anbi – solutions exist and we will make them clear to the new regional council. Meanwhile, there is already today the possibility of transferring the water resource through the existing Tirso-Flumendosa interconnection. The Tirso, in fact, pours water into the sea beyond the threshold, while the Flumendosa is in serious trouble, with 200 million cubic meters less than in 2023. The necessary infrastructure exists, built decades ago. It would therefore be a question of reactivating the pumps to give water to the countryside of Southern Sardinia."
Su Abbaluchente – Since the 1990s, the Reclamation Consortium has been promoting studies in central Sardinia to increase the availability of the main water resource: the Posada river. «There is a need for a new reservoir, upstream from Maccheronis, at the Abbaluchente narrows, where the Rio Mannu and the Rio Posada converge», explains Ambrogio Guiso, president of the Central Sardinia Reclamation Consortium. The definitive project of the new barrier has been ready since 2004. «Already two years ago the Ministry of Infrastructure had given us the input to move forward with the process, - continues the president - there would be no financial obstacles and even if the work falls in the area of the Tepilora regional park, there are other examples at a national level where dams have arisen within protected territories, bringing enormous benefits".
A dam for the Nurra – «The Sardinia Region must assume its responsibilities and also build the dam on the Rio Crabolu in the Nurra, between Pozzomaggiore and Suni, which will allow approximately 52 million cubic meters to be stored and thus complete the water scheme of the North West of Sardinia, this area is among the most penalized in terms of water supplies", continues the association.
For this reason, Anbi Sardinia raises the alarm to the political group that will soon be established. Among the priorities, «optimizing the use of water resources through the efficiency of hydraulic networks and creating new reservoirs and infrastructures represents a precise duty of regional policy to guarantee a future both for communities for drinking water and for campaigns for agriculture, the backbone of the entire economy of Sardinia."
«We can only ask the new regional government – concludes Zirattu – to fill the infrastructural delay that Sardinia has suffered for over thirty years».
Coldiretti - Talks about an "unacceptable situation to which enough must be said", underline the leaders of Coldiretti Sardinia Battista Cualbu and Luca Saba, president and director of the association, who join the complaint launched by the regional Anbi and the strong concerns of the Consortium of Reclamation of Southern Sardinia, regarding the serious problem that is also being experienced in recent days regarding water management and related infrastructures.
Protecting farmers - Cualbu adds: «The water restrictions on Sardinian farmers and breeders who have taken action in the areas most suffering due to the drought are not enough because these umpteenth cases of poor management of non-functioning infrastructures due to bureaucratic issues or, worse, to incorrect choices on the part of those who should govern the system are creating serious damage to the agro-zootechnical sector, isolating Sardinian agricultural companies and the excellent supply chains of our agriculture must not pay the highest price for these inefficiencies which are undermining the economy and the survival of many producers of artichokes, industrial tomatoes, fruit, wine, rice, corn, medicinal and fodder, the economic and social consequences in these territories are devastating."
Primary good – Luca Saba: «Farmers and breeders want to know if the primary good such as water or the cost linked to electricity, such as that which would be needed to activate the pumps in the Tirso dam where the infrastructure is already present and could allow us to alleviate the thirst of our countryside in Southern Sardinia. Coldiretti presented its proposals for the strategic management of water as a primary source for the development of agriculture to the candidates for the regional elections. Everything is in the hands of the newly elected president Todde. We expect a leap forward from the Region, as we have suggested, in the name of the modernization of irrigation networks for the reduction of losses, for the interconnection of basins, but also for the reuse of treated wastewater and incentives for the adoption of more modern systems ».
(Unioneonline/lf)
