Long-running drought means water top-ups are not allowed, making vacations a little less idyllic

Tourists hoping to lounge by sparkling Tuscany swimming pools this summer may find water levels alarmingly low thanks to new restrictions introduced to tackle Italy’s long-running drought.

Large parts of Tuscany have decreed that swimming pools cannot be topped up between May and October, as the country looks at ways of saving water.

The owners of villas, hotels and “agriturismo” rural resorts are deeply unhappy, saying that large quantities of water evaporate during the summer and that topping up pools is essential.

“There’s deep concern,” said Federico Taddei, the head of a regional branch of CIA-Agricoltori, an association of rural businesses.

Topping up swimming pools with fresh water, especially those used by a lot of guests, was “indispensable for keeping a pool clean and enjoyable” for holidaymakers, he said.

Bringing in water by truck to fill up swimming pools is “unthinkable because it’s too expensive”, Diana Grandi, from an agriturismo resort near Siena, told La Stampa newspaper.

“Who are the geniuses who came up with this and do they have any idea of the consequences it will have?” asked Paolo Barlettani, the owner of another rural retreat, Borgo Campetroso.

'Urgent' measures due to drought

Several hundred miles to the north, authorities in the autonomous, German-speaking province of South Tyrol announced a ban on creating artificial snow in ski resorts, saying snow-making machines use up too much water and energy.  

It has been an unusually dry winter in the Alps and Dolomites, with some areas receiving around half their normal annual snowfall.

The “urgent” measure was signed by Arno Kompatscher, the governor of South Tyrol, which also goes by the Italian name of Alto Adige.

There are still a few weeks to go until the ski season ends in Italy’s highest resorts.

Farmers have been told to use water sparingly as the province, like much of Italy, grapples with low rainfall.

In the Apennines, the mountain range that runs down the spine of Italy, environmentalists have warned that ski resorts that are lower than 1,500 metres in altitude may no longer be viable as a result of global warming.

This is Italy’s second year of drought. Last year was exceptionally hot and dry.

Lakes and rivers are at record low levels, to the extent that in some places people have been able to walk across dried-up lake beds to what were once islands.

Giorgio Zampetti, the head of Legambiente, an environmental organisation, said last month: “2023 has only just started but it is already showing worrying signs in terms of extreme climate events and drought levels.”

'Water is scarce' 

Italian rice farmers are cutting down the area of land they dedicate to the notoriously thirsty crop as a result of the drought.

Italy cultivates about 50 per cent of the rice produced in the EU and is the world's only grower of types most suitable for risotto such as Arborio.