Emilia-Romagna launches the 'Water Marshall Plan' with over 1,300 interventions

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - In Emilia-Romagna, with 1,371 total interventions (almost half of which are completed), the 'Water Marshall Plan', launched by the regional government, is advancing. Thanks to the various sources of funding - from the Rural Development Programme to the NRP, through to the Fsc and the Invasi Plan -, the Region has allocated: more than 800 million euro invested for irrigation works, to which a further 450 million is added for interventions related to the safety of the territory, of which 363 million following the May 2023 floods and 13 million on the Regional Civil Protection Plans for the 2023 and 2024 events. All this adds up to a total of 1.2 billion, in the period from 2018 to 2025.

Among the works (of which thirty or so are worth about more than EUR 10 million each) are the "re-functioning" of the crossbar on the Enza stream, in the Cerezzola area, between the province of Reggio Emilia and the province of Parma; the work, now 80% complete, on the Cavaliera plant in Bondeno, near Ferrara, to improve the irrigation and drainage system of the Burana - Po di Volano basin. And, again, the work site to make the 'Fosso Vecchio' canal (Alfonsine, Bagnacavallo, Cotignola, in the province of Ravenna) safe and increase its hydraulic and water efficiency.

"The purpose of all these interventions is to guarantee water for agricultural and food production, to make the territory safer thanks to important maintenance work, and to save water," commented the regional councillor for Agriculture, Alessio Mammi, during the point made in the Region with ANBI (National Association of Emilia-Romagna Irrigation Water Management and Protection Consortia). "Thanks to the maintenance and infrastructural works we are carrying out," he continued, "we are able to guarantee 70 million cubic metres more water per year than when the works began and energy savings estimated at 3 million kilowatts per year. Water is life,' the councillor added, 'if it is lacking, food supplies are at risk. Above all, we need to store water when it is there, and then use it when it is needed'.

"With the Region, we work and collaborate synergistically on a daily basis on these important issues and our workers are working hard to meet all the deadlines," said ANBI president Francesco Vincenzi. "The completion and progress rates of the construction sites," he continued, "clearly show all this. But our goal does not stop here because, having completed these interventions, we already have important new works to improve the resilience of our territories, the conscious use of water in support of the agricultural world, which for us, as for the entire country, is fundamental".

The Plan envisages various types of interventions, ranging from reservoirs for irrigation purposes, to expansion reservoirs, to water drainage and irrigation systems. Measures are also planned to make the adduction and distribution network more efficient, as well as works to prevent hydrogeological instability in the hills and mountains. 45.3% of all these works, carried out in cooperation with the 9 drainage consortia of Emilia-Romagna, have been completed, while 7.7% are in their final phase. 25.6% are under construction, while 14.5% are in the design phase. Those still being entrusted are only 3.4%, with another 3.4% awaiting implementation decrees. The investments being made will make the territory more resilient and, according to the Region's estimates, will guarantee, also thanks to maintenance works, 70 million more cubic metres of water per year (compared to 2018 figures), with energy savings estimated at 3 million kilowatts per year.