Environment

Pollution, 36% of Italian seas and lakes over the limit

The results of the 2024 Legambiente Goletta Verde and Goletta dei laghi campaigns on 394 sampled points. Growing trend: in 2022 it was 31%.

13 August 2024

4' min read

Key points

Rivers: critical points
37% polluted sea, 33% lakes
National Plan for Seas and Lakes

4' min read

Pollution of Italian waters: out of 394 points sampled between June, July and early August by Goletta Verde and Goletta dei laghi 2024, two historic Legambiente campaigns, in 19 regions, 36% were judged to be "over the limit" with 101 points receiving the judgement of "heavily polluted" and 39 "polluted". Of particular concern is the state of health of the sea, where on average there is one polluted point every 76 km of coastline, and where the trend of points over the limit is slowly growing from 31% in 2022, 36% in 2023 to 37% this year. Influencing the water quality results are mal-purification, illegal discharges, pollution, but also the acceleration of the climate crisis, which, in particular, with heavy rainfall, puts purification systems under pressure.

Legambiente's Goletta Verde and Goletta dei laghi campaigns are now in their 38th and 19th editions respectively, carried out this year in partnership with Conou, Novamont, Nuova Ecologia, Anev and Renexia. This summer, the two initiatives monitored the state of health of the Mediterranean and lake basins thanks to over 200 volunteers and Legambiente clubs active in sampling.

Rivers: critical points

River mouths, canals and watercourses that flow into the sea or the lake are confirmed as the critical points. A total of 47% of the total number of samples taken (185 out of 394) by the "Golette" were taken at river mouths, and in 59% of cases the assessment was "over the limit" (109 out of 185). On the other hand, the results of the samples taken in lake and marine waters were better, both in areas with a high influx of bathers and near critical points: only 14% of the samples received a negative judgment based on the analysis by the "Golette" (30 out of 208 points).

Also new this year were 18 special observatories (14 along the coast and 4 in Lakes Maggiore, Orta, Trasimeno and Bolsena) monitored by Goletta Verde and the lakes. These are historically critical points where Legambiente, between March and June, repeated an average of 3 additional samplings to the official one planned during the passage of the campaigns. Out of 45 samples, 32 along the coast and 13 in the lakes, 69% showed concentrations above legal limits even in the months preceding the summer period. Legambiente will assess whether there are grounds to complain to the competent authorities and ask for more monitoring and controls.

37% polluted sea, 33% lakes

Of 265 points sampled by Goletta Verde in 15 coastal regions, 37% were judged to be over the limit, specifically 25% of the samples were found to be heavily polluted, and 12% polluted. River mouths were also critical: 44% of those analysed were judged heavily polluted, 16% polluted, and only 40% within the limit. With regard to lake basins, 39 lakes in 11 regions were monitored by Goletta dei Laghi and out of 129 samplings carried out, 28% were assessed as heavily polluted, 5% polluted, for a total of 33% out of the norm, while 67% of the points were within the limit.

National Plan for Seas and Lakes

"Once again this year Goletta Verde and the Special Observers remind us how rivers and canals that flow into the sea and lakes can be a vehicle for pollution due to poor or absent purification. An Achilles' heel of our country, which has already paid fines of over 142 million euros," comments Stefano Ciafani, national president of Legambiente: "This is why we are launching the proposal for a national plan for the sea and lakes based on four pillars to also combat the climate crisis: from the purification system to climate adaptation plans passing through more protected areas; but it is fundamental to invest also in renewables and offshore wind power on which Italy is lagging far behind with only one active wind farm, the one in Taranto, and zero authorised projects among the 87 reported on the Vas-Via del Mase portal. Few have been admitted to the environmental impact assessment, despite an important potential highlighted by these for a total power of at least 68 GW, but also by the ferment shown by the connection requests to Terna, which at the end of June reached 133 for 84 GW of power. Installations that will certainly not all be made, but which highlight the potential of our territories'.

rains and sewage treatment plants

"The results are often also affected by the different weather conditions during the summer months of the last two years, in which we have gone from a dominant drought condition throughout the central-northern part of the peninsula, with rivers running dry and canals dried up, to a summer like the current one which has instead been characterised by frequent and abundant rainfall that may have sent the purification plants into distress," adds Andrea Minutolo, scientific director of Legambiente, who continues: "Evidences that have been seen above all during the Goletta dei laghi where, compared to 2023, this year the overall percentage of points over the legal limit has grown from 23% last year to 33% in 2024". Legambiente recalls that to date there are four infringement procedures against Italy for non-compliance with the Wastewater Directive (91/271/EEC); the last one (2017/2181) is still at the preliminary investigation stage, the first three have already resulted in a conviction and in particular the first one, dating back to 2004, has resulted in a fine.