San Giovanni Dam, there is water but the lifting pumps are broken: over 16 million cubic meters remain trapped.

Over 16 million cubic meters of water currently contained within the San Giovanni di Naro dam risk being unusable because for months there has been a failure in the lifting pump motors of the reservoir and no one is intervening to repair it. This is water that is used by farmers to irrigate the fields of Naro, Canicattì, and Castrofilippo.

The alarm was raised by the former agriculture assessor of the Municipality of Naro and current municipal councilor of the Pd Calogero Licata, who yesterday sent a note to the managing body, the Ag 3 reclamation consortium, requesting an immediate meeting prompted by numerous farmers in the area.

“Despite the good water availability of the reservoir – says Calogero Licata – a positive element after years of drought that have crippled local agriculture, there remains a critical problem that risks nullifying the benefits of abundant rains. The lifting motors have not been functioning for several months – Licata explains – and today we find ourselves in total uncertainty.”

The councilor strongly emphasizes the distinction between what should happen and what is actually happening. “Farmers – he adds – should not have problems with irrigation this year, I say 'should' because they have reported this stalemate situation that must be resolved before the arrival of the summer season; otherwise, months of hard work will be wasted if the irrigation campaign cannot start, causing severe damage to the local economy.”

The problem – continues Calogero Licata – has also been brought to the attention of President of the Region Renato Schifani, the regional assessors for Agriculture, Luca Sammartino, and his colleague for Water and Waste, Francesco Colianni, hoping for their prompt and decisive intervention. In the coming days – concludes the municipal councilor of the Democratic Party – I will convene a meeting of farmers to inform them step by step about the developments of the situation.”

And speaking of water and irrigation of the Agrigento fields, there is another incredible paradox: that of the Furore reservoir. Although it is partially filled, the dam has not yet been tested, and for safety reasons, it is necessary to discharge the water into the sea, resulting in a clear loss of a precious resource that could instead be used for irrigation of the fields in the area, extending the reach to the lands that fall within the area of Palma di Montechiaro and Favara.

It should be remembered that just a couple of years ago, there was a "battle" over the use of water from the San Giovanni di Naro dam between local farmers and those from the Licata plain. Licata farmers wanted to use about two million cubic meters of water from the Naro dam to irrigate their fields.

In January 2024, the Piana del Salso Consortium submitted a project to the Sicilian Region to channel water for irrigation purposes from the San Giovanni dam. A project worth 28 million euros that would be used to build the thirteen kilometers of pipelines necessary to bring water from the Naro dam to the fields of the Licata plain for irrigation of crops. However, more than two years after the presentation of this project, everything remains at a standstill or at least nothing more has been heard.

On the matter, the regional councilor for Agriculture, Luca Sammartino, intervened: "I want to reassure the farmers in the area served by the San Giovanni di Naro dam: the commissioner of the Agrigento drainage consortium assured me that the pumping station will be back in operation as early as next week. In a few days, the scheduled ordinary maintenance work will be completed. Therefore, the irrigation campaign will not experience any delays or impediments.

Furthermore, in recent months, the drainage consortium obtained funding of 8 and a half million for a project financed with resources from the Development and Cohesion Fund planned by the Schifani government to modernize and upgrade the pumping systems. The works have been awarded and will be delivered in the coming days".