Puglia confronts 40% water loss, calls for structural investments to safeguard irrigation

A Coldiretti Puglia report, based on CGIA of Mestre analysis of ISTAT data, shows that 40.7% of potable water entering the regional network – about 106 liters per resident per day – is lost. The main causes are aging pipes, ruptures, meter‑reading errors and illegal connections.

The association warns that the loss threatens households, businesses and especially agriculture, which depends on reliable water amid worsening droughts and climate‑related extremes. Coldiretti urges a shift from emergency measures to a long‑term strategy that includes building new reservoirs, completing unfinished storage projects, carrying out extraordinary maintenance on existing infrastructure, reducing network leaks and harvesting rainwater to create strategic reserves.

Alfonso Cavallo, president of Coldiretti Puglia, said, “Water is the principal strategic infrastructure of Puglia; we can no longer afford to waste this precious resource.” Director Pietro Piccioni added that every cubic metre lost represents economic, environmental and productive loss and that an organic plan is needed to protect food security, competitiveness and territorial resilience.