Veneto Drought Response: Region and Authorities Approve Measures and Monitoring

An observatory meeting held on Wednesday, July 15, by the Permanent Water Use Monitoring body of the Eastern Alps District Basin Authority updated the situation of drought in Veneto and raised the region’s water-management level to “medium water severity.” The session reported a 55% deficit on the Livenza river, critical conditions on the Sile linked to the Torre Caligo desalination plant—key for supplying Jesolo—and the advance of the salt wedge in the Adige reaching Cavanella d’Adige.

Operational thresholds were set for river flows, including at least 140 m³/s at Ponte San Lorenzo on the Adige and 80 m³/s at Boara Pisani downstream, alongside strengthened monitoring and a preference for adjusting withdrawals rather than applying uniform percentage cuts. The regional government agreed on coordination with the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano for releases from mountain reservoirs and with irrigation consortia to modulate diversions based on available water; it also confirmed structural investment measures, including a €42 million anti–salt wedge barrier on the Adige (tenders next year, construction in 2027, completion in 2029) and a regional plan for new reservoirs with 48 projects worth over €581 million, plus works related to a salt barrier at the mouth of the Po and a dam at the mouth of the Brenta.
Italian Version