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This article analyses the disjointed, incomplete and often malfunctioning techno-natural networks that make up the Sicilian hydraulic system and the social power relations associated with them, which shape access to and distribution of water in Sicily. We focus on how the perceived, and occasionally real, water scarcity on the island may be understood as a socio-environmental or techno-natural problem deriving from a combination of ecological, political and socio-economic factors. First, we show how a particular set of socio-environmental relations and entanglements has characterized this region since the unification of Italy in the mid-nineteenth century. These relations have proven to be extremely resilient over time because of their ability to adapt to changing political and economic contexts. We examine those relations and entanglements through considering the techno-natural water infrastructures on the island and how they express particular political and social power configurations. Our main empirical focus is on the Sicilian water crisis of summer 2002, which was a particularly revelatory moment as far as the socio-natural power relations involved in access to water were concerned...
