Among the solutions proposed to combat the water crisis in Sicily, the option of drawing on a huge deposit of 17 billion cubic meters of underground water, almost certainly drinkable, discovered in 2023 by the INGV and located between 800 and 2100 meters underground is also being examined. Iblei Mountains. According to the data provided by the Sicilian Agrometeorological Information Service (SIAS)the accumulated precipitation in the last year was 414 mma value comparable to that recorded during the great drought of 2002. In the last month alone, 6 of the 29 invasions located in the island’s hydrographic district dried up.
The characteristics of the water reserve discovered under the Iblei Mountains
The aquifer was discovered by a team of researchers from the University of Malta, the University of Roma Tre, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the University of Bologna and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in the USA. The study was published in the international journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment. The researchers estimated that over 17.3 km³ of fresh water mixed with brackish water are preserved within the carbonate rocks of the Upper Triassic, dated between the 201.4 to 227 million years agoof the Gela Formation in south-eastern quadrant of SicilyThe aquifer was identified through the creation of 3D models of the subsoil and analyzing salinity and pressure data from deep wellsmany of which are drilled in the 80’s and 90’s during oil exploration campaigns.
The presence of fresh water in the subsoil of the Iblei Mountains, up to a depth of 2100 metres, has been attributed to a process of infiltration of rainwater, driven by the relative lowering of sea levels that occurred in Messinianabout 5.7 million years ago. The infiltration seems to have been facilitated by the existence of systems of deep faultswhich allowed the passage of fluids
The importance of groundwater study
In an interview given to SkyTG24the researcher Lorenzo Lipparinifirst author of the study, said: “It was a very important study that can now be fundamental to address a problem that is putting Sicily in serious difficulty..” The estimate of 17 billion cubic meters of water is considered conservative and will require further study. According to Lipparini, carrying out a feasibility study, drilling and starting an exploration project to evaluate the chemical-physical qualities of the water and its flow rate, and then defining a development plan, would require just over a yearbarring any unforeseen events. Only then, with complete knowledge of the characteristics of the aquifer, could one think of a concrete development model.
In recent weeks, the President of the Sicily Region, Renato Schifanistated that, despite the various critical issues related to the use of this resource, he intends to examine the hypothesis and its feasibility. For this reason, the authors of the study were invited to Palermo to discuss a technical-economic evaluation with Civil Protection.
If confirmed, the water deposit fossil underground could represent a crucial resource for the island, especially during the current water crisis. Furthermore, “this may not be the only flap”, declared Lorenzo Lipparini, adding that, according to the data, another important reserve could exist even below sea level, off the coast of Sicily.
