TREVISO – Fourth stop today in Treviso on the Sile river for the crew of Operation Fiumi, the citizen science and scientific environmentalism campaign of Legambiente Veneto created thanks to the technical support of ARPAV, with the contribution of COOP Alleanza 3.0, with the patronage ofPo River District Basin Authority and Eastern Alps District Basin Authority and with the technical partner Strada Srl. The parameters observed in this fourth edition, in addition to the Escherichia coli bacterium – the fecal bacteria that allow us to verify the state of water purification – are Glyphosate and, new for 2024, PFAS. For the Treviso stage, the waterways put under the magnifying glass by Legambiente are the Sile, monitored in 5 points, and the Dese river, monitored at the mouth. All the points monitored between the two waterways were found to be above the value of 1000 (MPN/100ml) recommended by Arpav, within which the possibility of placing restrictions on the irrigation use of the water begins to be taken into consideration, with the exception of the point in Santa Cristina, which does not exceed it by a few units. The situation has been almost stable since Legambiente monitored the river with the Operation Rivers campaign: widespread overflows, even if below the discharge threshold value (5000 MPN/100ml). Note: It is underlined that for Escherichia coli when the value indicated by ARPAV of 1000 (MPN/100ml) is exceeded, the possibility of placing restrictions on irrigation use begins to be taken into consideration, with 500 (MPN/100ml) the limit for the bathability of the water, while the recommended discharge level must be less than 5000 (MPN/100ml).
Drinking water is not contaminated by Escherichia coli. Along the entire catchment area of the Sile River, in 2023, the regional Environmental Protection Agency collected data at 26 stations for monitoring chemical quality and 6 stations for monitoring biological quality. The chemical status was found to be Good in all the water bodies monitored with the exception of the Sile river due to exceeding the annual average of PFOS and, in addition to the annual average, also due to exceeding the maximum allowable concentration of Dichlorvos (insecticide). The contamination of the Sile river is presumably deriving from the wastewater treatment plant and airport activities. Among the specific pollutants, 1 exceedance of the average annual values was detected for AMPA (degradation product of Glyphosate) and Glyphosate, both in the Bigonzo drain.
The morphological monitoring, conducted in the years preceding 2023, mainly highlighted conditions below Good. “The results of the sampling give us again for this year a snapshot of some critical issues on the Sile water purification front, which are now evidently chronic, considering that the widespread exceedances, although not alarming in terms of the amount of fecal bacteria found, are almost stable since 2021, the year of the first edition of our campaign – declares Francesco Tosato, Spokesperson for Operation Rivers. With reference to the city of Treviso, we are aware of the poor sewerage and purification network, but also of the ongoing interventions to connect the many homes still without it to the sewerage network. Outside the city, however, attention must not be paid to phenomena such as illegal dumping or illegal agricultural spills, which persist, as well as the impact of chemical products widely used in agriculture such as herbicides and insecticides, also detected by Arpav along this route. of water, among the most important resurgence rivers in Europe and therefore, an extraordinary but fragile heritage to be protected and valorised”.
Adds Fabio Tullio, president of Legambiente Treviso: “Outside the historic center other critical issues come into play, such as PFAS which this year were added to the Operation Rivers campaign. As a club we are studying the surface water management projects in the Canova airport area and we have found in the documentation and analyzes of ARPAV that traces of PFAS were found in the wells. A worrying fact which will certainly require further investigations also in view of the new Masterplan for the expansion of the airport which will handle a number of flights which in our opinion is incompatible with the neighboring Sile River Regional Park. The quality of the water in our rivers is fundamental, and this is also why we have conducted environmental education courses in schools this year: nine first classes of the Da Vinci Scientific High School, around 300 students were involved in a Citizen course Science to learn about the river upstream and downstream of the city through chemical-physical investigations and fauna and flora checklists. The classes produced an interesting letter to the institutions asking for greater protection for river habitats. Furthermore, we know well that the quality of the Sile also depends on the quality of its tributaries, and for this reason the call continues for a process of recognition and establishment of the Resurgence Park to be started, to protect all the resurgence watercourses tributaries of the Sile and the riparian areas, a process initiated and coordinated together with various other local associations.” In the collaboration between Coop and Legambiente, large-scale retail producers and suppliers play a fundamental role. “Protecting and preserving river ecosystems is a duty that as Coop Alleanza 3.0 we must and above all we want to fulfill, supporting projects and initiatives promoted by entities that dedicate their professionalism to this such as Legambiente” declares Marina Castagner, President of the Treviso Coop Alleanza 3.0 Members Area , «The principle of sustainable development that guides us also involves the construction of important synergies and supply chain policies with the entire territory and with the community together with the entire cooperative system. The valorisation of local producers with whom it is possible to meet also on the common ground of environmental sustainability is a distinctive feature of the cooperation, and we also carry it forward in Treviso, aware of their strategic role in the entire supply chain”.
