Up to 22 billion cubic metres of
water could be recovered each year by collecting rainwater
run-off in cities and reusing waste water for agriculture,
Italian enviornmental association Legambiente said on Monday.
This amounts to approximately three times the capacity of the
374 large reservoirs in operation in Italy, which together hold
around 6.9 billion cubic metres, said Legambiente in the report
'Accelerating change: the challenge of water is in the cities'
(Accelerare il cambiamento: la sfida dell'acqua passa dalle
città).
Incidences of drought-related damage have risen from 6 in 2021
to 28 in 2022, a rise of 367%, the association added.
Low levels of rain and snowfall this winter have exacerbated an
already difficult situation in Italy after the severe drought
and long series of heat waves endured last summer hit its water
resources badly.
Mild winter temperatures have also brought forward the melting
of snow on the mountains.
Scientists say that extreme weather events like heat waves,
supercharged storms, flooding and droughts are becoming more
frequent and more intense because of climate change caused by
human greenhouse-gas emissions.
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