Environment

On March 18th, the Consorzio di bonifica Piave will close the branches of the Piave river for about ten days, until the 28th of the month, zeroing the water flow of the canals, which run through the countryside of half the province of Treviso and Venice. This initiative represents an experimentation on the effects of ecological outflow (DE), provided for in the European Union Water Directive and has therefore been agreed with the Veneto Region, District Authority, A.R.P.A.V., Civil Engineering, Sile Park Authority, Enel.

The effects will also be felt in the area of the Consorzio di bonifica Acque Risorgive. The objective is to evaluate, with scientific measures and analyses, the impact of derivations on the natural network of the plain, from a quantitative and qualitative point of view, in order to adequately support the institutional bodies in charge (Eastern Alps District Authority, Veneto Region) in decisions related to the application of European legislation. The choice of time is justified by the fact that, during this period, artificial watercourses, while maintaining their essential contribution to the enlivening of the territory, do not have irrigation purposes.

The Water Directive provides for the progressive reduction of water abstractions from rivers, so that by 2022 the so-called Ecological Flow is respected, that is the minimum flow threshold of rivers able to preserve animals and plants, which live in them. However, this Ecological Flow is calculated on the basis of general criteria, which do not take into account the specific cases of each river. The experiment will therefore serve to show that, by complying with the directive and consequently blocking artificial drift nets, there will be serious repercussions on the landscape, on economic activities (primarily agriculture) and on the daily lives of citizens, with inconvenience, for example, to sewage systems.

"We have 4 years to experiment and put the best solution into operation - explains Giuseppe Romano, president of the Consorzio di bonifica Piave - We want to try to do it with the help and collaboration of all the actors involved. 

The Consorzi Piave and Acque Risorgive have prepared sections, respectively on the website http://consorziopiavelab.it and in the app, through which citizens can send reports on particular problems such as bad smells or stress to fish fauna.