Some in Veneto call it the «Marshall Plan for water». In these hours, while Emilia Romagna deals with the damage caused by the scourge and the map of delays in terms of prevention, what has been done in Veneto since 2010, when a flood hit the areas of Padua and Vicenza, emerges. From there, the centre-right junta led by Liga do Norte Luca Zaia began a structural path, with a progressive investment that reached 3.5 billion euros over the years. Having as a cornerstone the “lamination basins”, cisterns that serve to collect excess water from the rivers, in case of heavy rains. Corriere.it reported a statement by the Regional Councilor for the Environment and Civil Protection: “So far we have completed 5 basins, we have invested 400 million in consolidation works, 320 million in maintenance works. And we are only halfway there. Today, however, we can say that there has been an important turning point. The impactful events in 2018, 2019 and 2020 testify to this». In particular, in 2018 there was a major flood, with considerable damage, but still with a lower impact than in 2010. Of course, given the strength of extreme weather events, it is not possible to find a shield that completely protects against damage. , but the Veneto route shows that they can be happy and a lot. And some sources close to the dossier, which Il Tempo was able to contact, explain that this prevention work was carried out in perfect synergy with the mayors, who were the first to want to make a change of this type, considering that Veneto is a very rich region in rivers, streams and canals.
In fact, only with teamwork at various administrative levels was it possible to carry out a work of perspective with effects that in the municipal dimension would never have been possible to achieve. A situation that inevitably, ascertained from the mere observation of the facts and without any veil of controversy, is compared with what happened in Emilia Romagna. Between 2015 and 2022 the Region, led by Stefano Bonaccini and Pd, received 190 million, resources that had to be used to plant 23 vaults. As Corriere.it reports again, only 12 have been completed, 2 are partially operational, 9 have not yet been completed and 2 have not yet been financed. So we always come back to the central theme, that is, purchasing power. In addition, specifically in Emilia Romagna, the issue of resource allocation was also addressed by a report by the Court of Auditors, which pointed the finger at the non-spending, on time, of sums of money to maintain some cascade courses. The path to follow, however, has also been indicated by geologists. The President of the Order of the Marches (region affected by the wave of bad weather, but with much less damage than in Emilia Romagna), Piero Farabollini, observes: “The floods of these days could be avoided with the proper maintenance of the riverbeds, but not with the isolated interventions that we often see, but from mouth to source. This implies careful management of the mountain territory, which in recent decades has been left to its own devices». His counterpart from Emilia Romagna, Paride Antolini, also shares the same line: “Emilia-Romagna represents a very important part of the Italian economy, starting with the tourism industry. Thinking about companies and the protection of the economy will also mean building all the necessary infrastructure to protect the water resource to face possible and future periods of drought and to focus more and more on maintenance».
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
