Green schooner, one polluted spot every 76 km along the Italian coast

36% of marine and lake water samples in 19 regions exceeded the legal limit

ROME – It's time to budgets for the sea and lakes of the Peninsula, which in this summer 2024 they are not in excellent health. Threatening them are poor purification, illegal discharges, pollution, but also the acceleration of the climate crisis which, in particular, with intense rains, puts purification systems under pressure.The result is that out of 394 points sampled between June, July and early August by Legambiente's Goletta Verde and Goletta dei Laghi 2024 in 19 regions, 36% were judged overall "over the limit" with 101 points receiving the rating of “Heavily polluted” and 39 of “Polluted”.Of particular concern is the state of health of the sea, where on average there is one polluted point every 76 km of coast, and where the trend of points beyond the limit is slowly growing, going from 31% in 2022, to 36% in 2023 up to 37% this year.This photograph was taken by Legambiente which presents today in Rome the final balance of its Goletta Verde and Goletta dei Laghi 2024 summer campaigns - now in their 38th and 19th edition respectively, both created with the main partnerships of CONOU, Novamont, and the media partnership of Nuova Ecologia, and with ANEV and Renexia as additional partners for Goletta Verde.

THE CRITICAL POINTS

River mouths, canals and waterways that flow into the sea or lake are confirmed as critical points.In fact, 47% of the total sampling (185 out of 394) from the Golette took place near the mouths of the rivers and in 59% of cases the judgment was "over the limit" (109 out of 185). However, the results of the samples taken from lake and marine waters were better both in areas with a greater influx of bathers and near critical points:only 14% of the samples received a negative judgment based on the Golette analysis (30 points out of 208).Also new this year are 18 special observations (14 along the coast and 4 in lakes Maggiore, Orta, Trasimeno and Bolsena) monitored by Goletta Verde e dei Laghi.These are historically critical points where Legambiente, between March and June, repeated on average 3 additional withdrawals to the official one expected during the passage of the campaigns.Out of 45 samples, 32 along the coast and 13 in the lakes, 69% showed concentrations above the legal limits even in the months preceding the summer period.Legambiente will evaluate whether there are the conditions to make complaints to the competent authorities and ask for greater monitoring and controls.

THE THREAT OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS

The Goletta Verde and Goletta dei Laghi 2024 summer campaigns monitored the state of health of the Mediterranean and lake basins this summer thanks to over 200 volunteers from regional and Legambiente clubs active in the sampling, also bringing to the fore the theme of offshore wind energy, which represents a great opportunity for the country, and at the same time denouncing with a series of raids the attacks by illegal cement, speculation, illegal construction, drilling and useless works, the fires and then the great drought emergency with a blitz on Lake Pergusa.Among the threats to the health of the quality of sea water and lakes, The acceleration of the climate crisis in 2024 is also worrying: from the never-ending drought emergency which especially affected southern Italy with almost dry lakes, the increase in extreme weather events (especially the intense rains that hit northern Italy) putting the purification plants under stress; from the tropicalization of the Mediterranean Sea, especially in the Adriatic, to the invasion of alien species such as the blue crab.In short, the budget for the Golette is worrying and Legambiente needs to intervene on it.

THE LEGAMBIENTE PROPOSAL

From Rome Legambiente launches its proposal: a national plan for the protection of the sea and lakes which has at its core the modernization and completion of the purification system, the application of climate adaptation plans, more protected areas by 2030 and a decisive turn towards renewables and offshore wind.In particular, on the subject of offshore wind, it is necessary to define the Maritime Spatial Planning (PSM) which serves to better organize the interactions between its uses, to reconcile the demand for development with the protection of marine ecosystems.Proposals and data were presented today in Rome in the press conference, moderated by Francesca Cugnata, coordinator of the Legambiente campaigns office, and which saw the participation of:Stefano Ciafani, national president of Legambiente, Andrea Minutolo, scientific manager of Legambiente, Katiuscia Eroe, energy manager of Legambiente, Simone Togni, president of ANEV, Riccardo Piunti, president of CONOU, Andrea Porchera, institutional relations and communication manager of Renexia.

“This year too, Goletta Verde and the lakes, together with the special observations - comments Stefano Ciafani, national president of Legambiente - remind us how the rivers and canals that enter the sea and lakes can be vehicles of pollution due to bad or no purification.An Achilles' heel of our country which has already paid fines of over 142 million euros.This is why today we are launching the proposal for a national plan for sea and lakes based on four pillars to also combat the climate crisis:from the purification system to climate adaptation plans via multiple protected areas;but it is essential to also invest in renewables and offshore wind in which Italy is significantly behind with only one active wind farm, that of Taranto, and zero authorized projects among the 87 reported on the VAS-VIA portal of Mase.Few were admitted to the environmental impact assessment, despite an important potential highlighted by these for a total power of at least 68 GigaWatts, but also by the excitement demonstrated with the connection requests to Terna, which at the end of June reached 133 per 84 GW of power.Plants that will certainly not all be built, but which highlight the potential of our territories'.

A potential that ofoffshore wind definitely underestimated by the Meloni Government, and demonstrated not only through bureaucratic slowness, like all renewable sources, but also by the development objective programmed in the new National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan where a target of only 2.1 GW is set for 2030.Without forgetting the numerous regional and local oppositions that develop around these projects, supported by fake news and smear campaigns.Among the regions most involved in the requests we find Puglia, with 37 practices and 26 GW, Sicily, with 35 practices and 23 GW and Sardinia with 29 practices and 13 GW.

“The results of Goletta Verde e dei Laghi – adds Andrea Minutolo, scientific director of Legambiente – they are also often affected by the different weather conditions experienced in the summer months of the last two years, in which we went from a dominant drought condition throughout the central-northern territory of the peninsula, with dry rivers and dried-up canals, to a summer like the current one which was instead characterized by frequent and abundant rains which could having caused the purification plants to suffer.Evidence that was seen above all during the Goletta dei Laghi where, compared to 2023, this year the overall percentage of points above the legal limit increased, going from 23% last year to 33% in 2024".Legambiente recalls that to date four infringement procedures are weighing on Italy for non-compliance with the Waste Water Directive (91/271/EEC);the last one (2017/2181) is still in the investigation phase, the first three have already resulted in a conviction and in particular the first, dating back to 2004, has reached the point of a financial penalty.

Out 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 "Heavily polluted", while 12% were "Polluted".63% were "Within the limit".River mouths are always a concern.44% of those analyzed had a rating of "Heavily polluted", 16% "Polluted" and only 40% "Within the limit".As regards lake basins, 39 lakes in 11 regions were monitored by Legambiente's Goletta dei Laghi 2024.Out of 129 samplings carried out, 67% of the points were "Within the limit", 28% "Heavily polluted" and 5% "Polluted".

Legambiente recalls how the analyzes and judgments expressed by the Golettes they do not replace the work of the authorities responsible for bathing:in fact, the objectives of Legambiente's campaigns are different, focusing on the issue of poor or absent purification;in most cases, moreover, even the points where the water samples are taken are different from those monitored by the Arpa and the ATS, being the first also in the mouths of the rivers or in the stretches of sea or lake in front of them.Legambiente's results therefore do not express a license for bathing on a stretch of coast or lake shore, but provide a snapshot aimed at uncovering critical issues linked to the microbiological pollution of water due to poor or absent purification. Among the good news is the release into the sea of ​​the Siponto sea turtle known as Tina in the Gulf of Manfredonia accompanied by Goletta Verde and Paco, one of the dogs of the Tartadog team, the first dog units, designed as part of the LIFE TURTLENEST project, specialized in the search for sea turtle nests and which met Goletta Verde in Tuscany this summer and Puglia.The success of the educational workshops on board Goletta Verde with the Life Delfi, Life Sea.Net, Life Turtlenest and Life Elife projects dedicated to marine biodiversity, sharks, cetaceans and sea turtles at their centre.