From 1 January 2022, the rules set by the Water Directive on Ecological Runoff are expected to come into force, which risk creating – as if droughts and floods were not enough – a further water shock for the Italian countryside.
The European legislation for the protection of the habitat of watercourses in Europe provides, in fact, a greater"release"of water into the rivers which means drastically reducing the withdrawals to be allocated to the innervation of the territories, that is, to the irrigation of the fields.
(source Sole24ore – https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/da-gennaio-ue-riduce-l-acqua-l-agricoltura-gravi-danni-l-italia-AEYlGfu )