sustainable WATer management in the lower Cornia valley through demand REduction, aquifer REcharge and river REstoration

The Cornia River (Val di Cornia) is one of the three main hydrographic systems of the region's water basin, part of the Northern Apennines river basin district. Due to an intensive civil and agricultural use of local water resources, the lower part of the river’s alluvial plain is characterised by a severe quantitative hydrological imbalance. As a result, the aquifer's level has been gradually falling, facilitating seawater intrusion which, in turn, has lowered the ecological status of the coastal-marine waters and caused damage to adjacent terrestrial ecosystems (and in particular to the Natura 2000 site Padule Orti Bottagone; and the protected wetland della Sterpaia). Access to good quality water for local residents, farmers and entrepreneurs is hence under severe threat, with water management costs bound to increase (due to higher energy costs linked to supply of well water). The principle objective of the LIFE REWAT project was to put in place, following a participatory approach, a strategy for integrated water resources management at sub-catchment level, proposing a governance model for sustainable development of the lower Val di Cornia. The specific objectives of the project were to: Create an integrated and structured knowledge base on the hydrological system of the Val di Cornia; Raise water users' awareness of the importance of water saving and groundwater banking and actively involving them in the project; Demonstrate the technical feasibility, the economic viability and the environmental sustainability of five solutions for the management of natural and managed aquifer recharge and for general water saving in civil water supply and in agriculture; Develop an integrated governance model for the management of surface and groundwater at sub-catchment scale, based on a participatory process; and Sign a river basin contract, involving all stakeholders of the sub-catchment. The LIFE REWAT project demonstrated the technical feasibility, the economic viability and the environmental sustainability of five pilot solutions for the management of natural and managed aquifer recharge and for saving water use in the Cornia River plain, namely:A managed aquifer recharge system that diverts high-water flows from the river and allows good water resources to be stored in an infiltration basin. This automatic system is based on a set of thresholds related to surface water level, surface water quality and groundwater levels and quality.The morphological restoration of a meander zone of the river. The active riverbed was widened and equipped with counter-banks to increase the area of contact between gravel and the water flow to benefit the aquifer natural recharge. Invasive vegetation was removed and autochthonous tree species were planted. Reduction of losses from the civil water supply network.Experimental drip irrigation system for water saving in agriculture.Wastewater reuse system for the irrigation of a sports field. These project actions achieved an average increase of the annual infiltration to the groundwater of 1 850 000 m3 and an annual reduction of pressure on the aquifer of 830 000 m3.  Additionally, the project developed an integrated governance model for the management of surface and groundwater at sub-catchment scale. The model led to the signing of a river basin contract by all water stakeholders in the area including the regional authority. The first Action Plan of the River Contract planned to implement 16 measures over the following three years to enhance the restoration of the aquifer conditions and to preserve groundwater quality, which is still seriously threatened by an imbalance of the water budget and seawater intrusion. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).