The average flow rate of the Po river at Pontelagoscuro (last survey before the delta) was, in July, equal to 160.48 cubic meters per second, 32.29% less than the previous negative record of average monthly flow, recorded in July 2006. This year the new minimum flow rate record was also reached, with only 104.3 cubic meters per second (24 July). This was revealed by the weekly report of the Anbi Observatory (the association of basin consortia) on Water Resources.
According to the Anbi, the Po, corroborated by localized thunderstorms, has registered slight increases in flow, but the most recent surveys show how ephemeral are the benefits that the rains have brought (in Piedmont about 30 mm of rain fell in 7 days, in the Ferrara area less than 17 millimeters in a month).
Among the northern lakes, the level of Lake Maggiore continues to decrease (only 10.8% of the resource still usable remains), while the Lario marks –0.6% on the hydrometric zero (new negative peak: – 39.9 cm) , Garda is 29.3% and the Iseo is 5.7% filled.
For Anbi, the recent “patchy” rains on part of the Peninsula have not solved the problems of the Italian water bodies. In the north, the rivers recorded slight increases in flow, but the hydrological situation in the central regions worsened, which did not benefit (or only modestly) from the rains. The rivers of Tuscany, Umbria, Lazio and Marche are at a minimum, some dry, and the lakes have all dropped in level. Also in the South water reserves are decreasing, from Molise to the countryside, from Puglia to Basilicata.
Source: Ansa
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