di Comune di Comune di Comune di Albinea San Polo D’Enza

To fully achieve the result, timber river flow baffles will be built also to make the current sinuous. Finally, vegetation protection and improvement measures will be implemented to re-establish the ecological network along water courses (Pict. 3). LIFE 11 ENV/IT/000243 RII Project The substantially innovative character of the LIFE RII project is given not only by the individual Integrated Hydraulic- prototypes specifically designed to solve specific hydraulic and environmental problems, but above Environmental Restoration all by the entire design process. Following a of Water Streams within preliminary stage addressed to a multidisciplinary technical group, local stakeholder were also the Piedmont belt of the involved through a “participatory process”, to agree Emilia-Romagna Region on and define in detail the works to be developed.

The LIFE RII Project experience will be accomplished with the adoption of the Integrated program for the Hydraulic-Environmental For more contacts: Restoration of Water Streams in the large- scale study area, which will be designed on the Emilia-Romagna Region basis of knowledge generated by the hydraulic, Soil and Coast Protection and geomorphological and naturalistic in-depth studies, Land Reclamation Service with the development of interventions, monitoring Viale della Fiera 8 and the participatory process. 40127 () The Project is finally aimed to design innovative legal-administrative instruments to support phone +39 051 5276811 hydraulic flood risk management and environmental fax +39 051 5276941 regeneration of the area in question. email: [email protected] Intervention centro stampa regione emilia-romagna regione stampa centro strategies The project detailed description can be found at: September 2013 http://ambiente.regione.emilia-romagna.it/life-rii Integrated Hydraulic-Environmental Restoration of Water Streams It was then decided to retain water uphill in the within the Piedmont belt of the Emilia-Romagna Region mountain section at most before they flow down reaching the urban areas, by making riverbed enlargements “closed” by narrowing sections The LIFE RII Project on Integrated Hydraulic- Additionally, streams were partially piped in downstream to retain water in case of flooding. Environmental Restoration of Water Streams within urban areas with reduced hydraulic sections, These narrowings the Piedmont belt of a few Municipalities located which are insufficient to contain flood waves. will be obtained in the Province of is implemented thanks to special by the Emilia-Romagna Region, in its capacity artifacts. These as coordinating beneficiary, the Municipalities prototypes have of Albinea, Bibbiano, Quattro Castella San Polo been specifically d’Enza, as co-funders and the Consorzio di designed to Bonifica dell’Emilia Centrale (Central Emilia Land operate in Reclamation Consortium), collaborating in the areas with project implementation. highly valuable The total amount earmarked for this purpose is landscape, by € 1.2 million of which 50% funded by the EU. planting local plant species so The LIFE RII Project ‘s main goal is to show that the key that, over the concepts underlying the European Directives on Water years, they will full and Flood Risk, concerning the need to reduce the flood cover artifacts, risk by improving the ecological status of water courses, which will become can be applied also on the minor water stream network. completely PICT. 2 invisible (Pict. 1).

Progetto LIFE11 ENV/IT/000243 RII LIFE11 ENV/IT/000243 Progetto The interventions will be made in six streams This condition of limited (Rio Arianna, Bertolini, Bottazzo, Enzola, Lavezza and space availability In addition, runoff water will be slowed with Quaresimo), characterized by a width ranging between and the need to find flexible weirs made up of trunks with roots 1-2 m and having a torrential regime. new and long-term anchored to the banks. These works, in addition economically viable to reducing the riverbed slope, provide an These are very small solutions led to the environmental improvement both for the watersheds with very steep decision to rule out diversification of the riverbed itself and for the slopes in the hilly part and less the development of creation of new habitats (Pict. 2). steep slopes in the densely traditional works. urbanized high plains. PICT. 3

PICT. 1