Rome mayor demands emergency measures as water rationing looms

The mayor of Rome urged the government on Friday to intervene to prevent water rationing in the drought-hit Italian capital.


Taps will run dry for up to eight hours a day from Monday for 1.5 million Romans after authorities told utility firm ACEA to stop withdrawing water from a nearby lake.

Lake Bracciano is running low following weeks of only minimal rainfall and unusually high temperatures. “It would be unacceptable to deprive Rome of water,” Mayor Virginia Raggi, a member of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, said. “A state of emergency must be declared.

” The center-left government said it was reviewing Raggi’s request and would make a decision in coming days.
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Related:

• Vatican fountains turned off in response to drought