About Garcia Dam

Garcia is the largest reservoir in western Sicily, impounding 64 million cubic metres of the Belice river near Campobello di Licata in the province of Palermo. Completed in 1990, the earthfill dam stands 51 metres high and was conceived as the linchpin of western Sicily's water supply system, serving both municipal needs and the extensive irrigation demands of the Belice valley's greenhouse and open-field agriculture. The Garcia reservoir is the focal point of the Belice Sinistro irrigation consortium, which distributes water to thousands of agricultural users across Palermo and Trapani provinces. The Belice river, fed by tributaries from the Sicani and Carboi mountains, delivers most of its annual flow during winter and early spring, making regulation essential for summer agriculture. Garcia works in coordination with the smaller upstream reservoirs of Leone and Piana degli Albanesi to maximise the capture and distribution of available water resources. In drought years the reservoir's level becomes a closely watched indicator of whether the region's farmers will face water rationing.