AGRIGENTO, Italy (AP) — Lakes are dry and fields are scorched by the heat in Sicily, but water still flows abundantly for tourists.
After a virtually rainless year on the Italian island, the fountains in Agrigento’s famous archaeological park are still flowing and hotel pools are full.
Like many Mediterranean islands, people in Sicily are used to long periods without rain, but human-induced climate change has made the weather more erratic and droughts can be longer and more frequent. Islanders are surviving as they have for decades: storing as much water as they can in reservoirs and using tankers to deliver it. And they do it so well that visitors don’t notice the difference. But this year, the drought has become so bad that residents are at even greater risk, even though water is still flowing to hotels and tourist sites.
Resilience in a dry year
The drought is punishing. The local water authority has strictly rationed water for nearly a million residents—allowing them just two to four hours a week—to get through the summer. And on Friday, the first Italian naval ship arrived to deliver 12 million liters (3.2 million gallons) of water to the worst-hit residents.
But the people of Agrigento are among the best in Italy when it comes to drought. Even with rationing, they can still run their businesses, hotels, bed and breakfasts and households without missing a shower, neglecting their gardens or closing the pool.
“Nobody can cope better with water shortages than the residents of southern Sicily,” said Salvatore Cocina, head of the local civil protection, which has the difficult task of coordinating what little water remains on the island.
Water scarcity is not new, as the terrain of southern Sicily does not retain much water and the aqueducts leak. The region is also prone to dry spells, especially in the summer.
Most residents have their own water reservoirs that can hold at least 1,000 liters (264 gallons) of water. The city’s rooftops are dotted with large plastic tanks, and just as many are located underground in yards and basements.
Despite the water emergency, tourists continue to flock to the beautiful beaches of southern Sicily, queuing to admire the remains of ancient Greek colonies.
“I had no problem with water,” said New Zealand tourist Iain Topp, as he sweated under the scorching sun during a visit to the 2,500-year-old Temple of Concord. But he added that he “was told to save water because there could be a shortage.”
Gianluca, an Italian tourist from Lodi who did not want to give his last name, said that in his experience “there are no problems with drought” and “in my hotel they told me they have their own reserves, their water reservoirs.”
The Valley of the Temples archaeological site, which attracted more than a million visitors last year, according to its director, has also been given priority and is therefore not affected by water shortages.
“We have water 24/7,” explained director Roberto Sciarratta. “Our archaeologists are working, the valley is also open at night with theatre performances. We have no problems with the water supply.”
Meanwhile, the tactics of residents struggling with water scarcity are working quite well, but they are faced with exceptionally difficult circumstances.
2024 was the worst year for rainfall in more than 20 years, according to the regional civil protection department. Lake Fanaco, which supplies water to the province of Agrigento, used to collect up to 18 million cubic meters of water during an average rainy season, which normally runs from September to April. But in April, the lake’s water level had already dropped below 2 million cubic meters and it is now almost completely dry.
In May, the national government declared a state of emergency over the drought and allocated 20 million euros to buy water tankers and dig new wells.
According to the Climate Shift Index, temperatures in southern Sicily are currently 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) higher than the 1991-2020 average. This means that water is evaporating quickly.
“If it doesn’t rain in September, we’ll have to start tapping into critical reserves, and wells and aquifers will also drop below critical levels, not just our lakes,” Cocina said.
Solutions are scarce
Salvatore Di Maria’s phone rarely stops ringing. He is a driver and owner of one of the most important water tanker fleets in the region.
On a hot day recently, Di Maria picked up his phone as he filled up his shiny blue tanker for a new customer at a public water station.
“I need 12,000 liters (3,170 gallons) of water,” said the voice on the other end of the line, calling from a tourist resort.
“There is a waiting list of 10 to 15 days,” Di Maria replied.
Everyone asks him for water. Everyone wants to make sure they don’t run out of water. Everyone wants full cisterns. And tankers are the best way to get the precious water directly to the residents without leaks.
Dozens of tanker drivers race along the winding roads, delivering water to priority areas as determined by the local water company, AICA. Higher priority groups include the sick or elderly, hospitals and various important businesses, such as hotels.
“The drought emergency was a wake-up call,” explains Settimio Cantone, president of AICA. “Our aqueduct is leaking 50 to 60 percent of its water.”
“We are now digging new wells, repairing the entire water pipeline and reactivating a desalination plant with the emergency fund. This will make our province more independent,” he said.
“Sicily is so vulnerable because of leaking pipes and outdated and undersized infrastructures. It is not just the climate,” said Giulio Boccaletti, scientific director of the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change.
In between the visits of the water tankers, several residents of Agrigento regularly go to the only public fountain still open in the city to fill up their jerry cans on the way home.
Nuccio Navarra is one of those residents, who fills jerry cans at the Bonamorone fountain two or three times a day. “In my house we get water every 15 days and the pressure is very low, and those who live on the upper floors cannot fill the tanks,” he said.
Climate scientist Boccaletti fears for the future, but he noted that repairing water infrastructure and investing in agricultural and technological adaptations, as AICA hopes to do, could alleviate some concerns.
The Mediterranean “will experience higher temperatures, lower rainfall and continued sea level rise in the coming decades,” the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said. The group called the region a “climate change hotspot” because of the vulnerability of human society and ecosystems.
“What used to be extraordinary is the new normal,” Boccaletti said.
___
Associated Press climate and environmental reporting receives funding from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded reporting areas at AP.org.