Sardinian farmers are not having it . After the statements of the sole director of Enas, who pointed the finger at the agricultural sector as the main responsible for water waste, comes the response of Coldiretti Sardegna: «It is unacceptable to blame those who work every day to guarantee food and protect the territory. The real problem is not the fields, but the obsolete infrastructures that disperse 50% of the water in leaky pipes , well before it reaches the farmers».

The association also clarifies that farmers have been investing in advanced technologies to optimize the use of water resources for years now. But while everyone does their part, institutions continue to ignore the problem of water infrastructure. "It is absurd that in Sardinia millions of cubic meters of water are discharged into the sea instead of being conserved for periods of drought. Where are the investments to improve the management of water resources?"

And so Coldiretti, to clarify, has drawn up a decalogue of questions directed at Enas, highlighting the critical issues of the system :

1) Does the administrator of Enas know that the water used and paid for irrigation is not "wasted", but returns to the natural cycle, contributing to the recharge of the aquifers and the conservation of the soil ?

2) Do you know that the main problem of water loss is not agriculture but the leaky pipelines that lose 50% of the water? Who manages them?

3) Are you aware that irrigated fields produce food that helps the environment such as a corn field that captures 50 tons of carbon dioxide or a vineyard 14, demonstrating the environmental value of agriculture?

4) Do you know that the Land Reclamation Consortia are investing large sums of money from their members, therefore farmers, in water saving and in loss reduction activities?

5) What extraordinary interventions is Enas carrying out or are being planned to reduce water losses in irrigation pipes and networks?

6) Why in 2018, a year of heavy rains, did the Flumendosa system alone discharge into the sea almost 50 million cubic meters of water that today would be essential for the island?

7) Do you know that last year, due to drought and the lack of use of the water system, 5 thousand hectares of irrigated and cultivated land were lost in Southern Sardinia alone and this year we risk the same?

8) Do you know in economic terms what it means to lose 5 thousand hectares of production in just one year and what disastrous consequences there are for the production of food for the community?

9) Are you aware that if you do not intervene adequately, the continuation of this situation will lead to the closure of many companies? Can you imagine the social cost that would result in terms of reduced employment and lack of maintenance of the territory?

10) What is being done to bring the reservoirs to their maximum capacity and exploit techniques such as dynamic laminations or the reuse of waste water? Should we rely on the dance of rain or will we finally decide to invest in adequate infrastructure?

And he concludes: "We cannot continue to rely on the dance of rain, we need immediate investments in infrastructure and more far-sighted management of water . It is time to tackle the problem at its root, without any more alibis or unfounded accusations".

(uniononline)

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