Right to water protest in Palermo: sit-in in front of the d’Orleans palace

Last Updated: May 26, 2024

The committee “Together for water” has called for a demonstration in front of the Palazzo d’Orleans on Friday, May 31 at 11 am to “protest against the inaction of the regional government in mitigating the serious drought situation affecting the entire territory of Ribera”. Despite meetings with various department heads, the emergency water commissioner in agriculture, several technical discussions, and urgings from the prefect of Agrigento, we have yet to see any concrete action to reassure thousands of agricultural companies in Ribera and the 13 neighboring municipalities that cultivate Ribera DOP oranges, Pera coscia di Ribera, and Pesca di Bivona IGP, says the committee. The water from the Verdura river continues to flow into the sea and Enel continues to produce energy from the hydroelectric plants, dispersing the water instead of storing it in the Castello dam, according to the committee, which, given the state of emergency and the start of the irrigation season, calls for the immediate allocation of water from the Castello dam for irrigation and the implementation of a plan for short, medium, and long-term interventions, including permanently connecting the Gammauta-Castello branch, resolving the agreement with Enel, reactivating the lifts on the Verdura river, reconstructing the irrigation networks in the area, implementing specific financial measures for water savings, and increasing the irrigation supply at both the individual and regional levels (company ponds, regional reservoirs, and new dams).