Drought in Italy: tough austerity measures against the water crisis - hairdressers are only allowed to rinse once

Created: 06/29/2022Updated: 06/29/2022, 17:07

By: Martina Lippl

Because of the drought in Italy: hairdressers are only allowed to rinse their heads once (archive photo).

© Philippe Degroote/imago

Water is scarce in Italy.

Drinking water is rationed in some regions.

To further reduce water consumption, a mayor has a brilliant idea.

Castenaso – Extreme heat and hardly any rain in sight.

Northern Italy is experiencing a historic drought.

The situation in the Italian regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna is serious.

The Po River – otherwise the lifeline – has shrunk to a trickle.

A state of emergency has already been declared in some areas due to water shortages.

Italian mayor bans second head wash at hairdresser

The mayor of Castenaso has banned the second wash at the hairdresser in an ordinance to save water.

The customer's head may only be rinsed once.

That may sound like a crazy idea, but Mayor Carlo Gubellini has done his homework: there are about ten hairdressers in the 16,000-inhabitant community on the outskirts of Bologna, Mayor Castenaso explains in

through an open water tap

.

By doing without a second head wash, thousands of liters of water can be saved every day.

"Nobody protested, the citizens understood the reasons behind the regulation," said the mayor.

Drought in Italy: Water wasters face fines of up to 500 euros

Gubellini hopes that his water-saving measure will spread further.

In his opinion, the effect would be enormous.

"We are at a critical moment, we have to roll up our sleeves and pay attention to every small gesture," emphasizes the mayor in the

Small sacrifices could have great benefits.

Anyone who violates the regulation must expect penalties of between 25 and 500 euros.

The local police carry out checks.

The consequences of water scarcity are serious for agriculture and also for fisheries.

Electricity production also had to be shut down.

The metropolis of Milan turns off the water in the wells in the city.

In order to save the Po Valley, water is to be pumped out of Lake Garda.

The proposal sparked heated debates.

Italy wants to declare a state of emergency for the whole country because of the ongoing drought.

Then the water could be rationed during the day because of the drought.