A suffering thirsty gem city of Sicily

How can be solved the water shortage of a word famous ancient town?

The English Mirror portal deals in detail with the drinking water supply problems of a beautiful small town in Sicily. The suffering thirsty city of Agrigento has been named the “Italian Capital of Culture” in 2025, but the region is facing a serious crisis that could be exacerbated by the expected increase in tourists.

The city sits on a hilltop on Sicily’s southwest coast, and locals are no strangers to water shortages in summer periods, but global climate change has made the situation dramatic. Natural water sources are drying up, reservoirs are being emptied and water tanker ships have been used to fill the gap. Agrigento’s municipal water supply is served by an underground plumbing system, which is reportedly aging, resulting in high water losses on the grid.

Less success in manage the water accessibility

The competent authorities have been discussing the modernization of the water network since 2011, but almost no major waterworks developments have taken place. In May 2024, the Italian government allocated €20 million to purchase water carried by tankers and drill new wells in Sicily. About 17 percent of the planned works were completed by July.

Restrictions have remained and are expected to remain so this year, but no one can seriously think that the solution is to reduce number of visitors and introduce further restrictions, but in my opinion, tanker water imports cannot be sustainable in the long term either.

The impact of water scarcity on daily life and economy in Agrigento

Water restrictions threaten the tourism industry, impacting the area’s historical and cultural sites: for example, the Valley of the Temples is an agricultural landscape that could be threatened or even changed if drought and water emergencies continue, Fodors writes.

Many small hotels and guest houses are also struggling to provide their guests with water for their needs. In summer, the situation is worst, as some accommodations are forced to limit the number of bookings, as they cannot guarantee that the toilets will flush or the showers will work. Hotels can buy water from land if they have the financial resources, but smaller accommodations do not have the capacity to store water or cannot afford to buy it in the first place.

Many locals are engaged in short-term property rentals, but water shortages have forced some businesses to close. Many households try to meet the need for water for washing and cooking by storing water in their own tanks, often using the services of illegal and expensive water suppliers.

What can we expect in 2025?

Last year, Agrigento declared a state of emergency and water emergency, with restrictions on irrigation and drinking, rationing even introduced over the summer, and some residents were forced to cut their water consumption by 45 percent. In August, disappointed residents protested against the measures. People in Sicily respect tradition and have a conservative mindset, but are their shoes tight enough this year to try new, innovative water solutions beyond the usual methods?

Alternative water source from the sky can be a solution

The World Economic Forum (WEF)  has issued a recommendation that water that can be extracted from water vapor in the atmosphere can solve – at least in part – the scarcity of dwindling conventional water resources, as well as the increasingly acute shortage of drinking water that occurs from time to time in certain regions. AWG-Europe is committed to solving water supply problems and sells a wide range of atmospheric water generators for family, office, community or industrial use.