Third of Italian Seas and Lakes Declared Illegal Due to Pollution

Rome: A third of Italian seas and lakes are deemed illegal due to pollution, as revealed by Legambiente’s 39th annual Goletta Verde and 20th annual Goletta dei Laghi surveys. Pollution, poor sanitation, and the climate crisis are increasingly threatening Italian seas and lakes, highlighted by the environmental group’s summer campaigns.

According to Ansa News Agency, of the 388 samples collected from coastal and lake waters in 19 regions, 34% surpassed legal pollution limits, indicating that one out of every three samples was contaminated. The samples were collected by over 200 volunteers from Legambiente’s regional and local branches.

Specifically, 35% of the sites assessed by Goletta Verde were found to be polluted or heavily polluted, equating to one contaminated site every 80 kilometers. For lakes, 30% of the samples exceeded legal pollution limits. However, the situation improved in areas far from estuaries or discharges, where only 15% of the sites sampled were above legal limits.

The Mediterranean Sea’s average surface water temperature reached a record high in the last decade, with temperatures hitting 25.4 degrees Celsius in June and July, marking the warmest period since 2016.

The surveys also revealed that 54% of river mouths, canals, and streams flowing into the sea or lake were polluted or heavily polluted. Moreover, 56% of these areas, which were not monitored by authorities and thus deemed unsuitable for swimming, had public beaches located near their mouths.

Legambiente urged the immediate approval of a national plan to protect coastal and inland waters. The organization called for increased resources to modernize purification plants, more inspections by regions, ARPA, and municipalities at critical points, and better management of inland waters.