Italy’s water crisis has been exacerbated by leaking pipes, reports show – #Italys #water #crisis #exacerbated #leaking #pipes #reports #show
ROME, March 21 (Reuters) – Italy is increasingly wasting water from leaking aqueducts, making the country more vulnerable to drought, ISTAT national the statistics office said on Tuesday.
January Scientists and environmental groups have raised the alarm about water shortages in Italy after a sharp decline in snow in the Alps and unusually low tides dried up Venice’s canals in September.
In a report published on Wednesday ahead of World Water Day, ISTAT, 2020According to the latest data available in 2016, Italy’s water pipelines lost 42.2% of the water they carried.
According to ISTAT, this is a record high despite repeated promises by governments of all stripes to address the problem.
20Water leak in 08 10 percentage point was less.
ISTAT researcher Simona Ramberti told reporters when presenting the report: “Water loss is above 55% in all four cities, and leakage is increasing in five out of seven areas.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told parliament on Tuesday that she is “working with regional and city authorities to upgrade infrastructure with new technologies and educate the public about the need to save water.”national working on the water plan.
He said an “extraordinary commissioner” would be appointed to oversee the plan and deal with infrastructure improvements.
In an interview last week, environment minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said the government’s 7.8 to face the water crisis billion euro (8.39 billion dollars) said he was preparing a package.
With increased droughts due to climate change, Italy may be wasting the water it has.
The ISTAT report says that last year 15 big cities and 20 cities20compared to 11 in the year, he was forced to accept the water norm.
“The appreciation was previously limited to the south, but in 2021 it also reached the north,” Ramberti said, adding that this was a “sign of great weakness” in the coming years.
ISTAT said that other drinking water from Italian rivers, lakes and reservoirs European Union draws more water than their countries.
About 30% of this comes from the Po River, which runs more than 650 kilometers (404 mi) from west to east across northern Italy, feeding the fertile Po Valley.
Last February, the Po had 61% less water than usual, with the region experiencing its worst drought in 70 years, according to the environmental group Legambiente.
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Added by Angelo Amante reportwritten by Gavin Jones, edited by Alvise Armellini and Sandra Maler
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2023-03-22 03:35:38
Source – reuters
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