Water rationing shifts will begin on Monday, October 7, in practically all areas of Palermo, as decided by the public business that handles the water service to save water for the winter months. Amap, the municipality's water supply management business, has described rationing as an "experimental plan", even though the consequences will be very concrete: the interruptions have been arranged in 24-hour periods, cycling between several sections of the city with the exclusion of the most central locations. Rationing is necessary since the pressure that transports water into houses has recently fallen. The situation is caused by drought and inadequate upkeep of water networks. There has been no regular rainfall in Sicily for some time, and the implications of the lack of water are visible in all provinces: manmade lakes are empty, numerous rivers are dry, farmers are unable to irrigate their crops, and farm animals are going hungry. All Sicilian reservoirs - lakes and manmade basins - have 60 million cubic meters of water left, down from 300 million a year ago.