About Fanaco Dam

The Fanaco reservoir sits in the upper Platani river valley in the province of Agrigento, completed in 1981 with a capacity of 21 million cubic metres. The earthfill dam rises 68 metres in a landscape of limestone ridges and terraced hillside farms that typify the central Sicilian interior. Fanaco was built to improve water availability for irrigation in the lower Platani valley, one of the most important agricultural corridors in western Sicily, where wheat, almonds, and olives are the dominant crops. The Platani river, the longest in western Sicily, has an irregular regime strongly influenced by winter rainfall and long dry summers, making regulated storage essential for year-round agricultural supply. The reservoir works in coordination with the nearby Castello dam system to maximise use of available runoff. Fanaco has experienced periods of severe drawdown during extended droughts, exposing the shoreline to erosion and concentrating pollutants from agricultural runoff. The reservoir is surrounded by the quiet agricultural villages of the Agrigento hinterland, where water availability remains a persistent concern for local farmers.