"We can consider 2024 to be the worst year so far when it comes to drought. The phone keeps ringing, and it has been ringing especially over the last few months: we still receive many calls from growers who are finding it difficult to irrigate their fruit and vegetable crops, stressed by the prolonged heat. We can define them as real requests for help, which come in particular from Sicily, Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria, Italian regions where the water emergency is serious. We fear the fall season will be mild and dry too," reports Vincenzo Orso (pictured below), a drone pilot for HydroHunter Italia, a company that has been carrying out underground water research in Italy and Europe for several years. These operations consist in using technological and professional equipment to identify where to position a drill, and inform drillers of the average depth at which water deposits or strata suitable for water circulation can be found.
The situation is getting worse, especially in southern Italy. Apart from a few recent stormy episodes, this summer continues to be characterized by a prolonged absence of rain and by significant heatwaves.
"While, until recently, there were areas where we were almost certain to find resources, now even those are in the process of desertification. The water tables have changed direction or, in the worst cases, they have subsided. It has become difficult to find water deposits at a depth of 100 m capable of providing 5-7 liters/second, so we are forced to develop new equipment that allows us to work at greater scanning depths. We are no longer talking about 80-100 m, but at least 150- 200 m. A deterioration that amplifies the exasperation of growers. There are those who contact us believing that we are the last chance left to continue producing. Many are even considering abandoning their crops."
On 30 and 31 August, HydroHunter Italia will travel to Gravina in Puglia, Potenza and Amendolara for further scans.
The company offers preventive and cognitive geophysical analysis free of charge to all customers, in order to assess the feasibility of finding water underground, so as to limit and optimize the costs of any investments for the construction of wells.
For more information:
Hydro Hunter Italy
Grosseto - Italy
Tel: +39 3510012837
[email protected]
hydrohunter.com