16. Strategic Priorities
2. Build Water Resilience into Tourism and Accommodation Growth
Problem
Tourism demand in Sardinia is strongly seasonal and frequently concentrated in coastal areas. Peak accommodation occupancy, restaurant activity, second-home use and recreational demand occur when temperatures are high, rainfall is limited and water resources may already be under stress.
Evidence
Sardinia entered 2025 with artificial reservoirs at 49.7% of authorised storage capacity, following a marked fall to 41.1% at the end of 2024. These island-wide figures do not describe every basin or municipality, but they demonstrate the importance of drought resilience and careful demand management.[unionesarda]
The principal data gap is tourism-attributable demand. Existing public data do not consistently show seasonal water consumption per guest-night, tourism-related wastewater loads, network losses or supply restrictions by destination.
Destination implication
Water insecurity can affect residents, tourism businesses, agriculture, water-dependent ecosystems, public health and destination reputation. It can also create competition between different users of a shared and finite resource.
The risk is not limited to an absolute shortage of water. It also includes avoidable distribution losses, insufficient wastewater capacity, poor demand visibility, inadequate drought planning and accommodation growth approved without evidence that local systems can serve peak seasonal use.
Proposed direction
Require Water Resilience Assessments for high-demand tourism localities and for material accommodation developments. The assessment should connect tourism planning with basin conditions, utility capacity, network performance, wastewater treatment, climate projections and ecosystem needs.
Priority measures should include:
- Monthly water-demand monitoring in high-season destinations.
- Metered accommodation water use per guest-night.
- Public reporting of local network losses and repair programmes.
- Water-efficiency standards for new and refurbished accommodation.
- Leak detection, smart metering and efficient fixtures in tourism businesses.
- Drought-tolerant landscaping and more efficient irrigation.
- Water-reuse options where technically appropriate, safe and lawful.
- Seasonal wastewater-capacity and compliance monitoring.
- Clear drought-response thresholds and public communication protocols.
- Protection of wetlands, aquifers, rivers and other water-dependent ecosystems.
Relevant stakeholders
Regional Department for Environmental Protection; Regional Basin Authority; EGAS; Abbanoa and other service operators; municipalities; public-health authorities; accommodation providers; campsite and marina operators; agricultural bodies; protected-area authorities; ARPAS; tourism associations; research institutions.
Possible indicators
| Indicator | Suggested measurement |
|---|---|
| Seasonal demand | Water supplied and consumed by municipality, month and major accommodation zone |
| Tourism efficiency | Litres consumed per guest-night by accommodation category |
| Network performance | Non-revenue water, leaks repaired and pressure-management performance |
| Drought exposure | Reservoir status, basin drought status, restrictions and days of reduced supply |
| Wastewater resilience | Treatment capacity, seasonal flow, compliance and overflow incidents |
| Ecosystem condition | Groundwater level, wetland condition, environmental-flow indicators and coastal-water quality |
| Business action | Share of accommodation providers with metering, efficiency plans and annual consumption reporting |
Delivery horizon
Immediate to medium term. Establish a pilot programme in high-demand coastal destinations and water-stressed areas, using results to define common regional standards for tourism-water resilience.