Sardinia restricts Lake Maccheronis water use to livestock as irrigation is halted

Sardinia is again confronting drought conditions, and the Central Sardinia Land Reclamation Consortium has halted irrigation in the Maccheronis basin district, allowing withdrawals only for livestock watering and cleaning stables. The agricultural areas of Posada, Siniscola, Budoni, Torpè and San Teodoro are affected as the reservoir held 0.969 million cubic metres of water on 14 November.

In a communication, the Sardinia Hydrographic District Agency stated that “it is necessary to significantly reduce withdrawals from Lake Maccheronis,” ordering the closure of the consortium network and the start of forced monitoring. The note, signed by Secretary General Costantino Azzena, specifies: “The Central Sardinia Land Reclamation Consortium… is asked to cease agricultural use, effective November 19, 2025, by taking appropriate action on the managed network, and to ensure that it is only used for animal welfare purposes.” It adds: “Similarly to what was done in the summer of 2024, starting from the week of November 17, 2025, the relevant authorities will have to activate enhanced monitoring and transmit to Adis, on a weekly basis, the information within their remit needed to monitor the reservoir’s water balance.”

“The possibility of falling back into the nightmare of summer 2024,” said Ambrogio Guiso, president of the Consortium, “was there and was foreseeable because the climate has now taken this turn and is not giving any concessions. We knew it could happen again. What we didn’t expect, however, was the lack of serious political planning to date that takes into account all the proposals put forward by the local community, the local population, and not just the agricultural sector that our organization operates. These include, from interconnecting basins to desalination plants, groundwater monitoring, wastewater recovery, and the possibility of building another reservoir, Abba Luchente, which, with Maccheronis, would allow for at least two-year water conservation.” He added that “the Consortium guarantees its staff’s full commitment, both in carrying out its institutional duties, such as supplying water to farms for livestock watering, and in activities outside the Consortium’s direct purview, such as the emergency water supply to the Torpè water treatment plant with water from the Posada River.”