Drought and lack of water also cause serious problems in tourism

Accommodations in Agrigento do not have a continuous water supply. In other parts of Sicily, households are provided with water every five to seven days, but there are settlements where the taps only work every twenty days. Municipalities provide water to the population with water tanks, and bottled water is bought in large quantities in stores.
The prefect of Agrigento shut down the city’s three hydroelectric plants until September 30.

In the city of Palermo, also in Sicily, water restrictions will be introduced from Monday. The Il Messaggero newspaper quoted the owner of the hotel, Giovanni Lopez, who said that before booking a place, tourists are interested in whether they can take a shower in the evening at the end of the days spent in the hot weather. I don’t know what to answer – said Giovanni Lopez.

According to Claudio Guarnieri, the water shortage caused by the drought has reached “horrible, (…) serious, critical in other places” dimensions. He emphasized that compared to last year, the water resources of the island of more than five million people have halved. The residents of Agrigento already protested the restrictions in front of the town hall on the first of June, chanting “We want water!”.