Councillor for the Environment in the Piedmont region Matteo Marnati fronted the media on Tuesday.
“We have to save every litre of drinking water that is available because reserves have run out,” Marnati stated.
“The water we’re collecting now is glacier water, as the glaciers are melting because of the heatwaves.
“So even though we’re collecting water, we’re losing our reserves.”
Marnati mentioned that the authorities in Piedmont were preparing a plan to prevent this from reoccurring in the future, and were hoping to raise close to one billion euros between now and 2026.
Last week, the Governor of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, said that his region had almost run out of water for agricultural purposes, due to the drought.
The Governor of the Veneto, Luca Zaia, said that saltwater had reached as far as 21km from the mouth of the River Po, where normally it only intrudes 300 to 400 metres.
The drought in Italy has caused immense damage to crops across the country, with crop yields predicted to have fallen by 45 per cent.
According to the agricultural group Coldiretti, the production of corn and fodder for animal feed is down by 45 per cent, while rice and wheat yields have dropped by 30 per cent.
Fruit yields are down by 15 per cent, while over 20 per cent of farmed mussels and clams had died, due to the lack of water flowing in the Po delta.
President of Coldiretti, Ettore Prandini, urged the government to take immediate action.
“An immediate intervention is necessary to save our crops, the livelihoods of our famers and their futures,” he stated.
