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STORY: :: Sicily grapples with a water crisis as a crucial dam nears exhaustion

:: Nicosia, Italy

:: Fabio Bruno, Nicosia resident

:: "We live in a mountainous town at 700 metres above sea level that has never had such extreme drought problems in the past, so we do not have enough water reserves or water reservoirs to survive for long without water. We are forced to save water to an exaggerated extent."

:: Nando Zabbia, Nicosia councillor

:: "By now, climate change has greatly reduced production from this type of source, so we have to tap the water table that feeds the springs to find a minimum amount needed for the survival of our community."

Previously serving 22 towns, it now provides water to just five, leaving residents with limited access to water once every seven days and sparking widespread frustration and protests across the region.

Fabio Bruno, a Nicosia resident and president of the Movement for the Defence of the Territory, questioned the dam's dramatic depletion from 26 million cubic meters to one million in just over a year.

Local officials are urgently seeking alternative water sources to sustain the community. In nearby Nicosia, drilling for underground aquifers has begun, with a new artesian well under construction.

Sicily has suffered months of below-average rainfall, with the Italian government declaring a state of emergency.

The island has long grappled with climate change-related high temperatures, setting a European heat record in 2021 of 48.8 degrees Celsius.