Milan’s mayor announced on Saturday that the northern Italian city’s fountains would be shut down as part of water restrictions imposed due to a drought.
Beppe Sala announced the measures the day after a state of emergency was declared in the wider Lombardy region until September 30, and instructed mayors to limit non-essential water use.
An emergency decree would involve the “closure of all fountains except those where fauna and flora are present, as well as the lakes and irrigation ditches of city parks,” Milan’s mayor said in a statement.
But he said the drinking fountains would keep running as temperatures had been above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) for weeks and a new heatwave was imminent.
Sala did not say when the measures would take effect, and city authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The drought emergency is ongoing and action needs to be taken,” he said, adding that everyone must do their part.
He urged citizens to minimize their use of drinking water to clean and water crops, and said irrigation systems feeding public lawns and green spaces would be phased out, except for newly planted trees.
Temperatures in offices, shops and homes should be kept at 26 degrees or more “to reduce energy consumption and thereby reduce the risk of blackouts,” he said.
Municipalities across Italy have begun implementing water rations after an unusually hot and dry spring caused widespread alarm.
The Po River, Italy’s longest river and largest freshwater reservoir, is suffering its worst drought in 70 years.
#Milan #hit #drought #close #wells
