Interview based mixed-method characterization of drought impacts: Case study in North-Western Italy

Drought stress on local and regional water systems is of increasing concern to authorities, especially in the wake of severe drought periods since the start of the century. This is particularly true in North-Western Italy, which faced previously unprecedented drought impacts, including the need for provisioning local water systems via tanker trucks, from the end of 2021 through 2023. The need for developing responses to such emerging issues calls for the gathering of all available knowledge regarding previous drought events to make conscious and informed choices in the future. In particular, much knowledge can be gained by studying how professionals in the water sector addressed previous water stress conditions, which impacts they faced and how well such impacts can be represented through the study of already available meteoclimatic data. Furthermore, understanding how water providers characterise the multidimensional and systemic condition of drought can shed light on how and why certain responses are taken, and help in the co-development of useful strategies. The study presents an application of a mixed-method approach, conducted through semi-structured interviews to employees of water-providing firms in the Cuneo Province, Piedmont. The method aims at obtaining both quantitative and qualitative data on drought impacts, as well as qualitative data on the interviewees and their perception of the drought phenomena, bridging the gap between the data-driven representation and the embedded experience of drought conditions.