Po River Drought Early Warning System
assignment/short description
The Po river basin is the largest river system in Italy and one of the most densely populated areas
in the country. The Po river valley hosts the principal productive areas of Italy. Next to populated
cities, heavy industry and intense agriculture are the principal users of fresh water.
Particularly dry years, like 2005 and 2006 have imposed exceptional strain on the river basin
system during summertime, as the soaring demand could not be met by the residual flow in the
Po river system. A water emergency induced the necessity to release water from the reservoirs
to meet the demand by agriculture. The released water led to losses for hydropower production in
Italy through lower reservoir and lake levels.
More information
- Paola Regginani
- +31 (88) 33 58 282
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