Dissemination through InFEA Project: the water, an inalienable right.

While drawing up the Water Protection Plan, the Water Resources Department of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region jointly with the Mathematics and Geosciences Department of the Trieste University has carried out a three-year study aimed at assessing the sustainability of the groundwater use in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. In this territory is still very common to get water from artesian wells for domestic purposes and to leave them flowing free. These so called “fountains”, widespread located in the Low Plain, can be considered an integral part of the popular culture, a sort of cultural heritage to be preserved. Their density varies considerably according to the geographic settlements distribution and to the boundary conditions. The withdrawals interest the artesian aquifer systems and being free flowing, withdrawals are real and much more than the needs. The unsustainability lies in the fact that, high quality waters, withdrawn from medium to high depths, end up in the sea through irrigation and drainage canals or go to feed the shallow phreatic aquifer system of the Low Plain without producing any recharge for the groundwaters. The study highlighted that more than 50% of the total used groundwaters come from the domestic wells that get the waters from the deep aquifer systems. These withdrawals are approximately 70 times more than the estimated demand (250l/day per person, for a European citizen). In the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, even if do not exist a problem of water quantity, going on with the same way of living, there will be, for sure, a quality problem. In the system in fact, through the effective infiltration, worse quality waters go into the water cycle. Furthermore, this great discharge that reaches the drainage system causes malfunctions in sewage plants and an increase of the pumping costs. Then comes the need to raise awareness on this specific subject. Thanks to the national InFEA Project, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, jointly with researchers of the Trieste University, started a dissemination program in the hydrogeology field. The foreseen activities, within the time, will involve all the Low Plain municipalities. The methodological approach involve all the primary schools (class 4 and 5), teachers, local administrators and citizens. To the scholars, after a starting front lecture (two hours for each class), a field daily activity is offered. At the end of the cycle, all the students are involved in an active cooperation allowing to realize posters, models, poems and short stories that are later presented during an evening dedicated to a discussion among researchers, politicians/administrators and citizens. The involvement of the young students (9-11 years old) with the constant and active participation also of the teachers, authorities, parents and citizens, can be considered an educational experience for everybody. At the same time, this creates a conscious awareness of the critical issues of our fragile territory.