It is a dark picture taken by Goletta Verde along the Campania coasts that continue to suffer the threat of lack of purification: out of thirty-one monitored points, twenty showed high bacterial loads. In the crosshairs there are always canals, river mouths and streams that continue to pour inadequately purified waste into the sea. And there are also absolute records, with situations that despite reports from the association and checks by the police show that pollution is now chronic: this is the case for example of the mouth of the Irno river in Salerno, of the Savone in Mondragone, of the Sarno river between Castellammare and Torre Annunziata, of the mouth of the Regi Lagni in Castevolturno, of the mouth of the Licola canal in Pozzuoli and of the mouth of the Asa torrent in Pontecagnano judged "heavily polluted" for the ninth consecutive year.
The balance of the monitoring carried out along the Campania coasts by the technical team of Goletta Verde, the historic Legambiente campaign dedicated to monitoring and providing information on the state of health of the coasts and Italian waters (also carried out thanks to the support of CONOU, the National Consortium for the management, collection and treatment of used mineral oils, and the partners Novamonte Ricrea) - was presented this morning in a press conference at the Circolo Canottieri Irno in Salerno by Francesca Ferro, director of Legambiente Campania; Davide Sabbadin, spokesperson for Goletta Verde and Giancarlo Chiavazzo, scientific director of Legambiente Campania, in the presence of the commander of the Port Authority of Salerno Giuseppe Menna.
"Poor purification is an environmental emergency that must be addressed urgently, given that we have also been ordered to pay the EU a fine of 25 million euros, plus 30 million every six months until we comply. Money that we could have spent more usefully to open new construction sites for purification and create efficient and modern systems, creating new jobs - underlines Davide Sabbadin, spokesperson for Goletta Verde -. And this is demonstrated by our monitoring, which as we always repeat is not intended to replace official controls, but aims to shine a spotlight on the critical issues still present in regional purification systems. This year too, the photograph taken by Goletta Verde gives us a snapshot of gloomy colors for many areas of the Campania coast. It is no coincidence that we are talking about chronically ill people, critical situations that we have been reporting for years, but for which evidently little or nothing has been done. For this reason, this year Legambiente will support the public complaint on the state of the waters with legal action, presenting new complaints to the competent authorities to ask them to verify the causes of these critical issues and report those responsible according to the new rules provided by the law on environmental crimes".
"We have been repeating it for years, but unfortunately we have not found any confirmation: it is necessary to decisively address the problem of the lack of purification, especially for a region like Campania, which in the tourist-recreational resource connected to the sea bases important productive and work opportunities - says Francesca Ferro, director of Legambiente Campania. Every year, unfortunately, the Goletta Verde trip to Campania tells of the beauty and the hell and the great contradictions of this region. Despite this, we continue to believe and fight for that virtuous Campania, the one that is focusing on innovation, beauty and sustainability. One thing is certain, however, there is no more time to waste".
The data made available by Arpac relating to the checks carried out in 2017 on the water exiting from purification plants, although still too few in number, confirm the chronic criticality of the situation. In fact, out of a total of 413 checks carried out in Campania, 41% were found to be "non-compliant", with non-compliance peaks of 66% for the plants in the province of Salerno, followed by 50% for those in the province of Avellino, 40% for those in the province of Benevento, 31% for those in the province of Caserta, and 29% for those in the province of Naples.
"A situation, therefore, far from reassuring and it is not a question of simply building purification plants or sewer networks - underlines Giancarlo Chiavazzo, scientific director of Legambiente Campania - but an organic and coherent action is needed for the creation of "purification systems" based on rationality, effectiveness and efficiency, starting from the detection of the state of consistency and functionality of the existing equipment to move on to the planning and creation of those necessary on the basis of priority criteria and the best available practices".
Legambiente reminds that the fate of water services and with them purification are a prerogative of the Campania municipal administrators, who are entitled to decide together in the Ente Idrico Campano (EIC), a fundamental body but that unfortunately almost three years after its institution is not yet operational. A harsh warning therefore goes to all municipal administrators, so that they finally operate responsibly in ensuring the government, direction and control of water services with the planning and programming of services, the identification and control of managers, the regulation of tariffs.
Finally, things are no better on the information front for citizens. The information signs, mandatory for municipalities for years and which should have the function of informing the public of the quality class of the sea, are practically absent: the technicians of Goletta Verde who have spotted in Campania only one sign out of the 31 points analyzed (at the mouth of the Picentino river, a point where there was also a sign prohibiting bathing). To this already complex situation is also added, moreover, the degradation and the presence of waste - from plastic to bulky materials - found in over 90% of the points monitored along the Campania coast.
The detail of the Goletta Verde analysis
The Goletta Verde monitoring (carried out by the Legambiente technical team between 25 and 29 June 2018) takes into consideration the sampling of critical points that are mainly chosen based on a presumed “greater risk” of pollution, identified by reports not only from Legambiente circles but also from citizens themselves through the SOS Goletta service. For this reason, the mouths of rivers, streams, drains and small canals that we often find on our beaches are taken into consideration: these situations are the main vehicles of bacterial contamination due to the insufficient purification of urban wastewater that reaches the sea through waterways. The parameters investigated are microbiological (intestinal enterococci, Escherichia coli) and we considered as “polluted” the results that exceed the limit values foreseen by the bathing water legislation in force in Italy (Legislative Decree 116/2008 and implementing decree of 30 March 2010) and as “heavily polluted” those that exceed these values by more than double.
Four points monitored in the province of Caserta, three of which were judged to be heavily polluted: the mouth of the Canale in Sessa Aurunca; the mouth of the Savone river in Mondragone and the mouth of the Regi Lagni in Castelvolturno. Both points have received the same judgement from Legambiente for nine years, which is why last year they were reported to the judicial authorities with a complaint. This act was followed by a note addressed to Legambiente to confirm ongoing investigations into the causes of the pollution. Within the limits, however, the sampling carried out at the beach in front of the mouth of the Fiumarella, also in Mondragone.
In the province of Naples, 14 points were monitored: six of these showed bacterial loads above the limits. A rating of “polluted” for the water sample taken from the sea in front of the mouth of the Lagno Vesuviano in Ercolano. A rating of “heavily polluted” for the water sampled at the mouth of the Licola canal in Pozzuoli (same rating for nine years in this case too); at the beach to the left of the mouth of the Alveo Volla in San Giovanni a Teduccio; at the mouth of the Sarno river between Torre Annunziata and Castellammare di Stabia (the same rating for nine years too); at the beach in front of the San Marco stream in Corso Garibaldi in Castellammare di Stabia and at the mouth of the Olmitello canal in Barano d'Ischia (Maronti area). Remaining on the island, the other samples taken between Ischia, Casamicciola Terme and Forio were within the limits. Just as no critical issues were found in the water samples taken in the municipalities of Torre Annunziata, Torre del Greco, Portici and Bacoli (details in the table).
The situation is more problematic in the province of Salerno, where river mouths and canals continue to discharge high bacterial loads into the sea. Out of thirteen sampled points, 11 receive a rating of “heavily polluted”. Among these, the mouth of the Asa torrent in Pontecagnano and the mouth of the Irno river in Salerno stand out, which have received the same rating for nine years. Then there is the mouth of the Dragone torrent in Atrani; the mouth of the Tusciano river in Battipaglia; the mouth of the discharge canal in Marina di Eboli; the mouth of the Picentino river, between Salerno and Pontecagnano; the mouth of the Bussento river in Policastro Bussentino (Santa Marina); the mouth of the stream near via Poseidonia, at number 441, in the Laura area; and the mouth of Capo di Fiume in Torre di Paestum, both in the municipality of Capaccio. Between Capaccio and Agropoli, the same rating for sampling at the mouth of the Solofrone river. Still at the mouth of the Rio Arena between Castellabate and Montecorice. Within limits the sampling at the beach near via Mantegna in Salerno and at the beach in front of Rio Caca Fave in Vibonati.
Legambiente reports having filed complaints last year - without receiving a response, however - for the critical issues found in Pozzuoli (Lido di Licola); at the mouth of the Sarno river and at the mouth of the Irno in Salerno.
This year, these complaints will be joined by the complaints at the mouth of the Alveo Volla in San Giovanni a Teduccio; the mouth of the Picentino river between Salerno and Pontecagnano Faiano; the mouth of the Tusciano in Battipaglia; of the Rio Arena between Castellabate and Montecorice and of the Bussento river in Policastro Bussentino.
Among the polluting factors, too often underestimated, there is also the correct disposal of used oils. Precisely for this reason, also this year the National Consortium for the management, collection and treatment of used mineral oils is the main partner of Legambiente's summer campaign. Active since 1984, CONOU guarantees the collection and recycling of used lubricating oils throughout the country: last year in Campania the Consortium recovered 12.208 tons of this waste that is dangerous for health and the environment. Used oil - which is recovered at the end of the life cycle of lubricants in industrial machinery, but also in cars, boats and agricultural vehicles - is a waste that must be disposed of correctly: 4 kilos of used oil, a car gearbox, if poured into water pollutes a surface as large as six Olympic swimming pools. But used oil is also an important resource because it can be regenerated, giving it a new life in a circular economy perspective: 98% of the collected oil is classified as suitable for regeneration for the production of new lubricant bases, a fact that makes Italy the leading country in Europe. “The protection of the environment and in particular of the sea and lakes – explains the president of CONOU, Paolo Tomasi – represents one of the cornerstones of our action. The work of the Consortium not only avoids a potential dispersion of hazardous waste into the environment, but transforms it into a precious resource for the country's economy”.
EDITORIAL TEAM
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