“Polluted sea in Liguria”. Legambiente has raised the alarm; on Monday, July 1, 2024, the association’s Goletta Verde stopped in our region and the results of the analyses carried out by volunteers were presented. Of 23 points sampled along the coasts of Liguria (ten taken at the mouth of rivers or canals and thirteen at sea between Imperia, Savona, Genoa and La Spezia), eleven were found to be heavily polluted (five) or polluted (six) because they were outside the legal limits according to microbiological analyses carried out by laboratories in the area. At this link the interactive map.
Cleanest sea in Italy: Liguria in the rear and below the national average
“Already four infringement procedures for Italy, fines for 142 million euros”
“The monitoring data of Goletta Verde in Liguria once again highlights the difficulties of our country regarding water purification – declares Federica Barbera, spokesperson for Goletta Verde – We are concerned about the sampling done in Monterosso al Mare and which was found to be heavily polluted , and we hope that a territory as virtuous as that of the Cinque Terre will work to find the causes of this result and implement the necessary interventions. Let’s not forget that there are four infringement procedures that weigh on Italy due to non-compliance to the Wastewater Directive; the last one 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 Italy has already paid fines of over 142 million euros.”
“Risk to people’s health”
“As has been happening for years now, the results of sampling at the mouths of Ligurian rivers highlight constant critical issues in the water purification system – declares Stefano Bigliazzi, president of Legambiente Liguria -. The problem must be solved upstream: making the purification system more efficient to ensure that these critical issues are resolved. We must also better signal, with specific signs, the ban on bathing in the river mouths, because even during our sampling we saw many citizens bathing in waters that should be forbidden to bathing, and this is a risk to people’s health”.
The blitz in front of Palmaria island
During its stop in Liguria, Goletta Verde also organized a blitz in front of the island of Palmaria, displaying the banner “Hands off Palmaria. Enough concrete, enough speculation. The island of Palmaria needs a model that center its environmental, historical and cultural vocations”.
The detail of the Goletta Verde analysis
“The Goletta Verde sampling – we read in the Legambiente note – are not intended to replace the official data on bathing suitability but rather complement the work carried out by the competent authorities. If, in fact, the Arpa data are the only ones that determine the bathing suitability of a stretch of coast following repeated analyzes in the summer period, Goletta Verde’s analyzes instead have another objective which is to identify the critical issues due to poor or absent wastewater purification in specific points, such as mouths, canals and waterways, the main vehicles with which this type of pollution reaches the sea”.
When the samples were taken and where
Samplings on the Ligurian coast were carried out from 17 to 19 June 2024. In the province of Imperia there are six sampling points. The sample taken at the mouth of the Santa Caterina stream in the municipality of Santo Stefano al Mare was found to be heavily polluted. Those taken in Ventimiglia at the mouth of the Roja river and in Sanremo the beach facing the San Romolo stream were polluted. The samples taken at sea, at the mouth of the Nervia stream, in Arma di Taggia the mouth of the Argentina stream and in Diano Marina the mouth of the San Pietro stream were within the limits.
Five samples were taken in the province of Savona: out of limits were the points at the mouth of the Maremola torrent, in Pietra Ligure, which was found to be heavily polluted, the sample taken at the mouth of the Centa river in Albenga and the one at the mouth of the Pora river in Finale Ligure were both found to be polluted. Within limits were the sample taken at sea, at the mouth of the canal on the Diaz 161 seafront in Ceriale and the one at the mouth of the Quiliano torrent, also in Finale Ligure.
In the province of Genoa, six samples were taken, of which the one at the mouth of the Nervi stream was outside the limits and was found to be polluted, while the points in the sea near Rio San Siro in Santa Margherita Ligure and at the mouth of the Entella stream, in Santa Margherita Ligure, were highly polluted. Board. Within the limits the collection at the Sbolgi pier in Bogliasco, the one at sea near the Recco stream, in Recco, and always at sea at the Petronio stream, in Riva Trigoso.
Finally, there are six points sampled in the province of La Spezia. The sample taken in the canal that passes under Piazza Garibaldi in Monterosso a Mare, which flows into the sea, was heavily polluted, while the sample taken at sea, near the discharge under the belvedere in Manarola, Riomaggiore, was found to be polluted. The samples taken at sea, at the mouth of the canal under the steps on the Venere Azzura beach in Lerici, the sea at the height of the historic triangle of Marinella di Sarzana, at the Fiumaretta beach in Ameglia and the sample taken at the mouth of the Rio Corniglia in Vernazza were within the limits.
Purification remains one of the sore points in our country, with 910 agglomerations for which situations of non-compliance with the requirements of the Waste Water Directive (91/271/EC) have been detected. According to the latest available data from Mase (December 2023), in Liguria there are still 9 agglomerations in infringement proceedings (Andora, Diano Marina, Alassio, Albenga, Arenzano, Sestri Levante, Lavagna, Rapallo and Riva Trigoso) with a total load generated equal to 240,700 equivalent inhabitants.
How the analyzes are done
The Goletta Verde samples are carried out by Legambiente technicians and volunteers. The association’s scientific office took care of their training and coordination, identifying the laboratories in the area. The samples for microbiological analyzes are taken in sterile jars and stored in the refrigerator until the moment of analysis, which takes place on the same day of sampling or in any case within 24 hours of sampling. The parameters investigated are microbiological (intestinal enterococci, Escherichia coli). The number of samplings carried out is defined in proportion to the kilometers of coastline in each region.
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