The very low rainfall in recent months and temperatures well above the average of recent weeks are bringing the Po basin and much of the Valpadana to its knees, especially between Piedmont and Lombardy but not only.
To cope with the drought emergency, Lombard hydroelectric producers have decided to increase water releases to support agriculture. Aid is therefore coming from the energy sector precisely at a time when there is a greater need for national electricity production to reduce dependence on Russian gas. The decision was announced in the context of the coordination table convened by the Lombardy Region in which Terna, the regulators of Lake Iseo and Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, representatives of Enel, A2a and Edison participated. “The increase – explained the regional councilor for the Mountain Massimo Sertori – will allow the release of a total of 4 million cubic meters of water per day for the Adda basin, and almost one million for the Oglio basin”.
Precipitation -60% in the first 5 months of 2022
Edison confirmed the agreement with the Lombardy Region, specifying that from 16 June for a duration of ten days, it will increase the releases of water downstream from the reservoirs of the Valtellina. The decision was made to “mitigate the serious water crisis that continues due to the low rainfall recorded since the second half of 2021 and which in the first five months of 2022 led to a reduction in rainfall of about 60%, with consequent contraction of hydroelectric production by over 50% compared to historical averages ».
Towards a state of emergency
Meanwhile, the Regions are taking action to ask for a state of emergency, as anticipated by the president of the Lombardy Region, Attilio Fontana. “I think it is a request that will be made jointly – said the governor – because it is a dramatic situation for Lombardy, Piedmont, Emilia Romagna but also Veneto”.
In the evening, the president of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, sent a request for a state of disaster for agriculture to Rome. This was reported by the Piedmont Region, announcing a meeting for the following day to take stock of the situation.