Update 29.08.18

In the last days of August, work on Station SS9 in the Grancaro area finished: the new transformer and the new electricity panel have been installed.

The director of COBALB, Mr. Pierangeli, has told us that only the connection of some electricity panels is needed to complete work on the lifting stations. A year after delivery of the work, all of the stations will be restored.

Good news, even if the planned repairs of some parts of the system and testing of the entire system are still needed.
For reasons of urgency Mr. Pierangeli intends to bring all parts of the system back into operation, without waiting for the testing. The final decision however rests with the region.

We can’t therefore be sure that pollution in the lake will reduce in the short term (see photo of 28 August of a spillage at Station 9).

We underline again that there are some important problems still to be resolved, among which are:

• Checking for leaks in the pipeline
• Legal/administrative managemen
• Future maintenance of the system.

It is striking however the serious delay in respect to the initial timescale, due on one hand to the setup of the regional invitation to tender for the restoration works, and on the other by the characteristics of the tender-winning company. The restoration works on the purifier have not yet begun and will be long and difficult. From now on until the renovated purification plant is functioning, all of the waste water from the lake basin will end up in the river, carrying pollution through its mouth into the sea.