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Walking through the streets of this area, you may encounter some nice fish near the manholes. They are there to remind you that the health of the river and lake is also our health and we must take care of it.
In fact, every day, through the manholes, we pollute our waters with cigarette butts, plastics and other waste. Perhaps without knowing that every manhole in our area is connected, directly or indirectly, to the waters of the river and the lake.
“The lake starts here” is a campaign conceived and promoted by AGS and the Municipality of Riva del Garda started on 22 March 2022, and now supported and shared by the Municipality of Sirmione and the Consorzio dei Comuni BIM Sarca Mincio Garda, lead institution of the Parco Fluviale della Sarca, to sensitize all generations on the protection of the streams, rivers and lakes and to invite citizens to behave more attentively and respectfully.
March 22 is World Water Day and the campaign “The lake starts here” was deliberately launched on this same day to resume the theme addressed this year: “Groundwater, making visible the Invisible”.
At the basis of the whole project, in fact, there is the desire to make people look beyond, to disprove the erroneous belief that the manholes are connected to the sewers or purifier and to make it clear that everything we throw in the manholes ends up polluting the lake.
To make this message immediate, the “The lake starts here” campaign relies on creativity, proposing metaphorical graphics designed to make it clear that at the bottom of a manhole there is more than you imagine.
The inauguration of the project was signed by the installation of the first metal plate near a machicolation in the historic center. In the following weeks, dozens of other plates were installed in the areas with the greatest pedestrian traffic in Riva del Garda, from 22 March 2024 the project is extended to include the municipality of Sirmione and the municipalities belonging to the Sarca River Park.
The waters used for cleaning houses, shops and stalls contain detergent products and other chemical-based substances and for this reason they must in no case be discharged into the drains. Their final destination must be a drain connected to the black sewer (eg toilet) and then to the purifier.
Cigarette butts are not biodegradable and contain about 400 substances, which pollute the waters of waterways and the fauna that lives there in different ways, so they should not be thrown into the drains. Their final destination must be the unsorted bin.
The water used for washing the construction vehicles must be decanted on the spot and the residue must be removed. It is important not to discharge this water into the drains, as the residues of cement mortars ending up in the waterways alter the ecosystem, and restrict the capacity of the pipes which are then insufficient to remove rainwater, especially in periods of heavy rain.
The remains of packaging, especially those made of plastic, release harmful chemicals that pollute the land, groundwater, creeks-rivers-lake waters and the fauna that lives there. Their final destination must be the separate collection and not the manholes.
Colors, varnishes, thinners, etc., must not be disposed of in drains, because they are polluting if they end up in waterways. Their final destination must be a collection center for recycling (C.R.M).
The washing of one’s own vehicles (cars, motorcycles, bicycles etc.) must not be carried out in the courtyards of the house, because the waste water can capture particles of mechanical oils that would reach the groundwater or directly into creeks-rivers-lake through the drains. It is correct to go to an authorized washing machine equipped with purification systems that filter the pollutants.
The residue of the sweeping of waste collected along sidewalks, roads, courtyards, etc., of any nature (leaves, residues of earth, chewing-gum, plastics, etc.) should not be thrown into the drains, as it accumulates in the well and clogs the exit of the pipes, causing problems with the outflow of rainwater, especially in periods of heavy rain.
Cigarette butts are not biodegradable and contain about 400 substances, which pollute the waters of waterways and the fauna that lives there in different ways, so they should not be thrown into the drains. Their final destination must be the unsorted bin.
The waters used for cleaning houses, shops and stalls contain detergent products and other chemical-based substances and for this reason they must in no case be discharged into the drains. Their final destination must be a drain connected to the black sewer (eg toilet) and then to the purifier.
The remains of packaging, especially those made of plastic, release harmful chemicals that pollute the land, groundwater, creeks-rivers-lake waters and the fauna that lives there. Their final destination must be the separate collection and not the manholes.
The water used for washing the construction vehicles must be decanted on the spot and the residue must be removed. It is important not to discharge this water into the drains, as the residues of cement mortars ending up in the waterways alter the ecosystem, and restrict the capacity of the pipes which are then insufficient to remove rainwater, especially in periods of heavy rain.
The washing of one’s own vehicles (cars, motorcycles, bicycles etc.) must not be carried out in the courtyards of the house, because the waste water can capture particles of mechanical oils that would reach the groundwater or directly into creeks-rivers-lake through the drains. It is correct to go to an authorized washing machine equipped with purification systems that filter the pollutants.
Colors, varnishes, thinners, etc., must not be disposed of in drains, because they are polluting if they end up in waterways. Their final destination must be a collection center for recycling (C.R.M).
The residue of the sweeping of waste collected along sidewalks, roads, courtyards, etc., of any nature (leaves, residues of earth, chewing-gum, plastics, etc.) should not be thrown into the drains, as it accumulates in the well and clogs the exit of the pipes, causing problems with the outflow of rainwater, especially in periods of heavy rain.
On February 8, 2022, the protection of the environment, biodiversity and ecosystems entered the Italian
Constitution, amending art. 9, one of the fundamentals of our Republic, and art. 41.
Article 9
The Republic promotes the development of culture and scientific and technical research.
It protects the landscape and the historical and artistic heritage of the nation. It protects the environment,
biodiversity and ecosystems, also in the interest of future generations. State law regulates the methods and
forms of animal protection.
Article 41
Private economic initiative is free.
It cannot take place in conflict with social utility or in a way that could damage safety, freedom, human
dignity, health, the environment.
The law determines the appropriate programs and controls so that public and private economic activity can
be directed and coordinated for social and environmental purposes.
Finally, the amendments introduced by the approved draft constitutional law establish a safeguard clause
for the application of the principle of animal protection in the special statutes of the Regions of Sardinia,
Sicily and Valle d'Aosta and of the Provinces of Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Among the initiatives planned for the promotion of environmental protection and the "the lake starts here"
campaign, the Alto Garda Servizi Group reopens to the public the "Riva" tank, one of the plants where the
distribution of public water in Riva del Garda.
The first scheduled date is set for Saturday 26 March 2022
For organizational reasons, reservations are recommended by 15/03/2013 by calling the number.
0464/553565.
Visitors are invited to leave their cars in the new parking area adjacent to the Varonese football field, in
fact, it is forbidden to park near the tank.
In 2019, the Garda Sports Fishermen Union launched a project aimed at restocking the “alborella” in the
Garda waters. The “alborella” is a freshwater fish that was very present in our waters until the 1990s, while
today it is close to extinction. The project is also active in the territory of the Municipality of Riva del Garda
in the protected area in Val di Gola.
The term microplastics refers to small plastic particles that pollute streams, rivers, lakes, seas and oceans.
They are called in this way because they are precisely micro-fragments of plastic (dimensions between 0.33
and 5 mm) that cause various damage to ecosystems.
Plastic degrades very slowly, turning into microscopic particles that are easily ingested by fish and other
aquatic organisms, and through the food chain to humans.
The municipality of Riva del Garda in 2021 joined the "Seabin" campaign promoted by Coop for the
environment in partnership with "LifeGate", with the installation of a floating bin that collects waste. The
students of the School "Liceo A. Maffei" of Riva were involved in the project, which collect the data of the
plastics collected.