The latest rains in Sardinia have been a real godsend , with the level of the reservoirs recording - after some time - a nice "plus" sign. A situation that is going better than expected but which fails to eliminate some critical issues, leaving the reclamation consortia that manage the irrigation of the fields on the island with bated breath . What is certain is that the Easter and Easter Monday water have contributed to making the ghost of the drought less frightening which does not disappear, even if it does less fear.
Thoughts now focus on the next few months , especially the summer ones, which promise high temperatures and scorching days as early as this weekend, where peaks of 30 degrees are expected. According to the latest bulletin of the Region's Basin Authority, reported as of March 31, the overall quantity of water present in the Sardinian artificial dams is equal to 1234.75 million cubic meters or 67.7% of the capacity of the reservoirs. This is more than 10 percentage points more than February 2024 (56.2% and 1025.38 million cubic meters), but less than the same period last year, when 1416.63 million cubic meters of water were present in the basins, 77.6 % of the potting capacity.
This situation gives us hope for the coming months but we need to be far-sighted: just think that last year the rains arrived in the last part of 2023. This year the snowfalls have given a big hand, but only in Gallura (Liscia basin) the situation is within normal parameters, while in all the other areas of the island the emergency does not end, even if in the next meeting of the management committee of the basin authority, the rules on irrigation limitations could be slightly widened. More probable scenario in Northern Sardinia, where the situation has visibly improved, while hope is halved in Sulcis, where the Alto Cixerri water system is causing concern, with the Punta Gennarta and Medau Zirimilis reservoirs reaching just 17.3% of the flow overall maximum.
