By: Pietro Todaro, UNESCO consulent. CONFERENCE: «Water Resources in Italy and particularly in the district of Palermo”. By: Pietro Todaro, UNESCO consulent. PALERMO - 15.02.2014 The picture that you can see is important for us, because it represents as water is at the origin of the world and of life!

But there is……WATER SHORTAGE in the world!!! The next 10 years, water availability will fall by 30% per person. A recent UNESCO report showed that in 2010, 30,000 people per day died for lack of water.

……AND IN ITALY?? Their sources are mainly concentrated in Piedmont, Tuscany and Lombardy. Although Italy is a country rich in water, it buys water from France, Slovenia and Switzerland. Italy has a capacity of 12 billion cubic meters of water. Beyond the water resource is not homogeneously distributed: its presence is related to the hydrogeological characteristics of the area. Since past times the Italians have proved to be the main consumers of mineral water In 2010, based on Istat data, the 61,8% of the family bought mineral water. According to Mineracqua every year about 186 liters of mineral water are consumed by each citizen: half a liter per day.

The water balance in Italy in Gm3/year

WATER IN SICILY In Sicily the 13% of the annual precipitation is recorded. The wettest areas of the island are the Mountains near Palermo, the Nebrodis and the Etna volcano. The plain of Palermo, in particular, is divided into two plains: one side is wet by the river Oreto, the other extends till the sea of Mondello, but in general most of the water is collected in the mountains.

Volumes of water released into the water system of Palermo

Where is water from? • The LAKES that give water to Palermo are: the lake of Scansano, the lake of Poma, the lake of Rosamarina and the lake of Favara; • The MOUNTAINS surrounding Palermo act as natural reservoirs as for example the Monte Pellegrino and the Capogallo ones; • The main RIVERS in Palermo are: the Kemonia underground river, the Papireto river, the Oreto river and the Passo di Rigano river;

«The Qanats» in Palermo The Qanats are a system of hydraulic transport used to provide a reliable source of supply of water to human settlements and for irrigation in hot, arid places. The technology on which they are based was developed initially in ancient Persia and then widespread to other cultures, in particularly along the Silk Road. The Qanats are built by a series of tunnels similar to vertical wells, connected by a culvert on a slight slope. The most important Palermo’s Qanats are: “Gesuitico Alto”: built in XVI century by Gerardo Alliata Knight of Malta. “Uscibene”: where there is a particular room of the Scirocco, the channel is open to public.

Room of the Scirocco (a particular type of wind) and Qanat Xibene

TECHNIQUE OF CONSTRUCTION This technique: draws to an aquifer in a manner that efficiently transports water to the surface without the need for pumping. The water flows by effect of gravity, because the destination is lower rather than originally, which it is usually an aquifer. permits to the water to be transported at a long distance in an area with a hot and dry climate without losing a large amount of water due to evaporation.

The ground floor plans of some Qanats

But water sometimes can change from resource to danger. …………………………

..One of the events that can witness it is the flood happened in Palermo in 1931 when a percentage of rain equal to that which is usually recorded in a year was recorded in two days. It caused the deaths of ten people and extensive damages to houses and to the country. Palermo - 1931