Water

The bad weather did not prevent the participation of a large group of citizens to the guided tour of the phytodepuration plant of the Consorzio di bonifica 1 Toscana Nord (with headquarters in Viareggio, in the province of Lucca).

The visit, organized by Interactive Communities at the end of the participatory process that led to the signing of the Lake Contract, was held in the reclamation area of Vecchiano, where since 2013 the consortium has built the largest phytopurification plant in Italy. It is a real open-air laboratory: an experimental area of 17 hectares, in which the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa, scientific partner of the consortium, has compared 3 different techniques of natural purification of water used in agriculture, in order to identify the best method to reduce excessive quantities of nutrients present in water, mainly nitrates and phosphates, thus flowing to Lake Massaciuccoli, water of better quality.

Five years after its construction, the plant has proved to be operational, so much so that the Tuscany Region has financed the extension of the plant's surface area, which will increase from 17 to 40 hectares with the consequent increase in the quantity of treated water, becoming the largest phyto-purification area in Europe.

The data say that the purifying capacity of this plant is high, significantly reducing the amount of nitrates and phosphates, which end up in the lake, this is the result of work done together by the Region of Tuscany, Consortium, Sant'Anna School, municipality and environmental world.