A cruise ship appears on the horizon, separating the blue of the sea from the characteristic brown and white houses of Lipari, while it brings tourists to the island. A panorama that can be glimpsed from the top of the island – Monte Sant’Angelo, 600 meters above sea level – which, among the blackberry and broom bushes, hides a large abandoned public work that cost over 2 million euros.
Article by Monica Fur, Alice Pistolesi for Il Manifesto (Italian)*
It is a field of hundreds of solar panels, covered in brambles, some damaged or broken, which were supposed to produce clean energy for the Lipari desalination plant, which is currently only partially operational due to design problems and the lack of energy supply. The work was built in 2014 with regional funds and never came into operation due to a dispute between the construction company, the water purification plant manager and the Region.
IN THE YEAR OF RECORD TEMPERATURES in Italy, the supply of water resources in the smaller islands, including the Aeolian Islands, remains a puzzle, to which are added the growing needs of summer tourism. “Today the Aeolian Islands are characterized as a welcoming place where tourists are welcomed into the family,” explains Professor Carlo Giannetto, of the Department of Economics at the University of Messina. “It is a problem to consider for the future when there could be tensions and possible conflicts over water.”
The Aeolian Islands know that water is a precious resource and during periods of greatest tourist influx, water saving is even more important. The Municipality of Lipari, made up of Lipari, Vulcano, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi and Panarea and inhabited by 12,761 people, hosted 142,770 tourists in 2023. Federalberghi’s calculation only considers overnight stays for one night, while day visits or those that populate the many mini cruises that depart from Milazzo or Reggio Calabria are left out.
A water need that is answered by the arrival of tankers. The company that supplies water to the Aeolian Islands and all the smaller islands in Italy is Marnavi spa, a shipping company that operates in the global market of transport of chemical and food products founded by Domenico Ievoli, grandfather of the current president. For the supply of the Aeolian Islands, Marnavi has been under investigation since January 2023, on charges of aggravated fraud against the State. Marnavi was contacted for an interview for this report, without receiving a response.
“The paradox is that with tankers in the Aeolian Islands the water problem is less acute than in Sicily. At the expense of the State, because the Ministry of Defense pays for the supply of water in the smaller islands”, explains Giuseppe Fulco, an engineer who has been visiting Stromboli for over 40 years. The National Anti-Corruption Authority has also paid attention to tankers, in fact in 2021 it issued an opinion in which it highlighted the substantial monopoly situation in the transport of drinking water.
THE HIGHER AREAS OF THE ISLAND HISTORICALLY HAVE BEEN IN MORE DIFFICULTY DUE TO THE LACK OF WATER, LIKE THE PIANOCONTE DISTRICT OF LIPARI. In this area lives the farmer Pietrina Mandarano, who produces Lipari DOP products by cultivating ancestral varieties such as the prickly caper and Ianchedda wheat pasta, as well as fruit and vegetables for home consumption. “During the summer, we lend water to our neighbor Tiziana,” says Pietrina, 63. “We connect a rubber hose to our cistern and then pump it with a small motor: there has always been little water but it is never denied to anyone, in the past we helped each other by donating water with a cooking pot.”
IN THE PIANOCONTE DISTRICT, water rationing is a historical fact. Located 266 meters above sea level, water has always arrived here with difficulty because it needs to be pumped from the coastal area. Municipal water arrives once a week, the aqueduct is in neglected conditions and the family organizes itself with tanks that collect the rain. “Vines and olive trees are just some of the crops that suffer from the lack of rain in the countryside,” explains her husband Giuseppe Cincotta, walking in the garden between rows of almost dry chili peppers.
A SITUATION AGGRAVATED BY THE CLIMATE CRISIS: This year too the Aeolian Islands have experienced yet another year of extreme summer heat as highlighted by data from the Sicilian Agrometeorological Information Service (SIAS).
A set of factors that also weighs on those who work in tourism like Bartolo Lauricella, 63. A neighbor of the Mandarano family in the Pianoconte neighborhood, he runs the “Casa Gialla” B&B. “In the summer we triple the consumption of showers and changing linens for our guests. We always have water thanks to 3 tanks that collect about 150 tons of rainwater and with many precautions, for example I do the laundry washing in my house which is located in the lower part of the island,” explains Bartolo, “my structure is full of messages that invite people not to waste water.”
DESALINATORS COULD BE , according to experts, an answer. In 2022, the Municipality of Lipari presented, through the calls for proposals linked to the Pnrr Isole Verdi funds, some project sheets that include, among other things, the installation of desalination plants on some of the islands of the archipelago. The total amount of interventions to be carried out by 2026 (already suffering from months of delay) amounts to 53 million euros.
“Among the criticisms leveled at desalination plants,” explains Giuseppe Fulco, who had worked on some of the design sheets, “is that they are energy-hungry machines. In reality, on volcanic islands this can be limited by using geothermal energy or other renewable energy systems, such as solar energy.” According to the engineer, the savings are also economic. “It is estimated,” he continues, “that the water produced with desalination plants costs 0.69 euros per cubic meter, while the cost of transporting water by tanker ships is up to 16 euros per cubic meter. Desalination plants are used all over the world, while in Italy they have been installed on very few islands.”
STROMBOLI IS ONE OF THE ISLANDS where the desalination plant should be installed. The island, famous for its volcano, is one of the most popular tourist destinations, especially for daily mini cruises to participate in night excursions. A tourism that has changed with the decrease in excursionists, after the closure of the crater in 2019 due to eruptive and seismic activities that caused a victim.
“Rainwater collection in Stromboli is not practical, the volcanic ash makes it unusable,” says Massimiliano Cincotta, 51, a restaurateur and part of one of the oldest families in Stromboli. “We have organized ourselves with three 110-ton tanks, but often it is not enough and we are forced to ask for water from the parish next door. We have estimated that we use a 40-ton tank a week just for the bathrooms, which are also used by day tourists who frequent the restaurant.”
There are still many unanswered questions, as Bartolino Leone, director of Il Notiziario delle Isole Eolie, says: «Recently, our newspaper was asked to find out more about the over 4 million euros that, thanks to the Pnrr, will be spent in Monte Sant’Angelo and also to take stock of the renovation of the water network that has been missing for at least 30 years».
“Water costs users approximately 11.7 Euros per cubic meter plus 10% VAT compared to 0.50 Euros per cubic meter in large cities like Milan. The internal network of the Aeolian aqueduct is on the verge of collapse and continues to show losses of up to 50%”, adds Giuseppe Amato, Head of Water Resources for Legambiente Sicilia. “There is no official policy of saving and sustainability of consumption other than that implemented by users”. From these data it emerges that the water supply is 22 times more expensive in the Aeolian Islands than in Milan.
According to Professor Giannetto, the solutions also involve a different model of tourism, a vital economy for the islands: «Deseasonalizing with alternatives such as wine tourism, investing in technologies for water management and supply, focusing on tourism more connected to the territory, not on hit-and-runs and visitors on yachts, would lead to greater protection of the Aeolian Islands and create jobs for young people who are leaving».
*Reportage produced with the support of Journalismfund Europe
