Home

|

Case Studies

Romagna Reclamation Consortium

Introduction

Since the first Law on Reclamation Consortium (Consorzio di Bonifica) on 1882 passing through different Regulations (TU in 1900, Law Serpieri nr.215/ 1933 and Law nr.183/1989 on soil protection, DLgs nr.152/1999 on water protection, Dlgs. (Legislative Decree) nr.152/2006 and Protocol State-Regions on role of the Reclamation Consortia) fixing the membership, roles and responsibilities of private/public kinds of organizations regulating the water management, the best practice object of this case study can be dated since 2000. The Consortium is member of a larger district under the Basin Po Authority and there are sometimes obstacles to find common solutions in case of heavy drought, such as in the case of spring/summer 2022. The Ministries involved, such as that for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty and that for Environment and Energy Security, are more focused on the obligations at European level, such as i.e. the application of the Water Framework Directive, than in the solutions at organizational and infrastructural level. The overall staff is constituted by 187 persons, around 50% working on field, 95 technical structure and 20 administrative employees.

Related modules:
Globe
Play-circle
Name of the farmer/ entrepreneur or other initiative
Romagna Reclamation Consortium (Consorzio di bonifica della Romagna)
Year of establishment of the initiative
2000
Location
Emilia Romagna via A. Mariani 26, 48121 Ravenna (Administrative Headquarters)

Case description

The Consortium has close collaboration with ANBI (National Association of Reclamation Consortia), Region Emilia Romagna and ANBI Emilia Romagna, and all the Municipalities included. The organization is constituted of a Council of Administration responsible for planning and executive activities, an Administrative Committee, and Technical Direction). The Consortium area is about 3,500 km2, its contributors are around 388,000, and its turnover is 31 million €. There are extraordinary funds for infrastructures, such as strategic works in the next years for 31 million €, pertaining the PNRR (National Plan for Recovery and Resilience). 

All kinds of cultivations are regarded, but with specific reference to horticultural and fruit crops, as the most important in the area and for the water needs. 

The Consortium has close collaboration with ANBI (National Association of Reclamation Consortia), Region Emilia Romagna and ANBI Emilia Romagna, and all the Municipalities included. The organization is constituted of a Council of Administration responsible for planning and executive activities, an Administrative Committee, and Technical Direction).

Total area or number of animals

The Canale Emiliano-Romagnolo and surrounding river basins, involves 59 municipalities, and covers 352,456 ha, with yearly management of about 900 million cubic meters of water.

Main agricultural activity and Multifunctional activities

Planning based on statistics provided by AGREA (Regional Agency for Payments in Agriculture) and forecasts of ordinary and extraordinary drought periods.  The water quantity is subject to limits and shifts in water use, also acting by pressure reduction with related decrease of water available. This methodology has limited the damages of drought period and favoured the use of new low consumption equipment and tools (section pipes from 150 to 80 mm, microjet equipment, drip irrigation, etc.). The consumption quotas are deducted from the types of crops and checked on a sample basis with infrared systems.  A weekly bulletin on the state of the water resources is distributed to all the contributors.

Critical challenges of the farm/ the region

In the very last years the region is facing drought periods with water shortage and heavy rains as a consequence of climate changes.

CSA Activity

Reason for engaging in CSA/ Triggering moment for implementation

CSA is part of the strategy adopted by the Consortium to limit water consumption, improve responsible water use by the farmers based on control smart technologies, and encouraging drip irrigation systems and digital control of water use.  Planning based on statistics provided by AGREA (Regional Agency for Payments in Agriculture) and forecasts of ordinary and extraordinary drought periods.  The water quantity is subject to limits and shifts in water use, also acting by pressure reduction with related decrease of water available. This methodology has limited the damages of drought period and favoured the use of new low consumption equipment and tools (section pipes from 150 to 80 mm, microjet equipment, drip irrigation, etc.). The consumption quotas are deducted from the types of crops and checked on a sample basis with infrared systems.  A weekly bulletin on the state of the water resources is distributed to all the contributors.

Description of the innovation

The methodology has faced till today all the difficult situations due to the drought. The participation to a European project contributing to tackle the future climate changes has also enhanced the competences needed.

The realisation of the intervention with the use of two former quarries as lamination basins pursues, in addition to the capacity of containing and storing water, the ecosystem protection of the area concerned with attention to the poultry and fish fauna. The works carried out will ensure water safety for the irrigated crops in the area as well as protecting them from any risk of flooding in the event of heavy rains. The availability of surface water resources for the entire irrigation season will lead to a progressive decrease in groundwater withdrawals. The works for the connection with the Santa Giustina purification plant, which collects urban and agricultural waste, will make it possible to create a virtuous system of circular use of the water resource.

The future installation of floating photovoltaic panels on the surface of the reservoirs will guarantee a significant reduction in electricity consumption, i.e. for water pumping, from the fixed network.

Implementation Process of the innovation & used methods of innovation management

The implemented process system aims to balance the use of water for irrigation and face potential emergencies due to heavy rains. The works have been presented to the contributors for an informed acknowledgement of the cost sharing by all Consortium members. It has been fundamental the opportunity to use of European funds to improve the planning initiatives aimed to provide the area available for the scope of mitigating the risks due to drought or floods. 

The works planned and assigned are distributed in a large territory:

  • Implementation in the “Pisciatello – Rubicone” area of works for the extension of the water distribution of the Emiliano-Romagnolo Channel in the municipalities of Cesena, Cesenatico, Gambettola, Gatteo.
  • Recovery of former quarry basins on the hydraulic right side of the Marecchia River. Investments in primary water infrastructure for the security of water supply” of Investment 4.1, Mission 2, Component C4 of the PNRR.

Todays Results of this implementation

The methodology has faced till today all the difficult situations due to the drought and aims to secure the land from heavy rains and floods. The participation to the Irriframe project, in collaboration with ANBI, contributing to tackle the future climate changes has also enhanced the competences needed and allowed a reduction of the water needs of crops up to 25%.

Irriframe project is based on a Decision Support System (Decision Support System, DSS, based on a GIS (Geographic Information System), which carries out daily a localised water balance, based on the big data available on the territory (weather stations, soil soil moisture sensors, drones, satellites, etc.) from public networks, company sensors or remote sensing. The system provides users with an irrigation indication about when to irrigate and the volume to be the volume to be distributed, to avoid yield drops and wastage of resources. It can be used by farms, to make irrigation more rational irrigation with enormous economic advantages, by manufacturers of irrigation systems, to provide irrigation advice to their customers, by managing bodies, competent administrations and basin authorities to carry out the balance territorial water balance, forecasting the uses of each district irrigation 20 days in advance and thus allowing this way a better management of withdrawals and therefore less environmental dispersion of the water transported by the canals.

SWOT of the Case today

The main issues are related to the public tasks attributed down by law to the Consortium and the importance to give water quantity and quality adequate solutions. There are no significant consumer complaints about services and costs. The Consortium is member of a larger district under the Basin Po Authority and there are sometimes obstacles to find common solutions in case of heavy drought, such as in the case of spring/summer 2022. The Ministries involved, such as that for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty and that for Environment and Energy Security, are more focused on the obligations at European level, such as i.e. the application of the Water Framework Directive, than in the solutions at organizational and infrastructural level.

Education/ Training of the decision makers/ leading persons

The education and training is considered highly important both towards the employees, 187 persons, around 50% working on filed, 95 technical structure and 20 administrative employees, and the public/ private members of the Consortium. 

The project Irriframe particularly contributed to involved hundreds of farmers in the area including the Reclamation Consortium of Romagna, about 16,000 users in 16 regions of Italy, contributing to enhance their theoretical and practical knowledge on water balance and saving practices of agricultural cultivations.

Outlook/ Aims and Goals

The company outlook is constantly improved and the projects planned for increasing the water storage in the new lamination basins that will prevent future flooding and guarantee water needs will help secure the area affected in spring 2023 first by drought and then by disastrous flooding following heavy rains. The projects being implemented will make it possible to cope with the water emergency, guarantee water needs for crops and protect the land and crops from the risk of future flooding. The consortium system proves to be able to raise farmers’ awareness of the importance of joint investments, decision support systems and water control and saving.

Lessons Learned/ Recommendations

The water management system through the Reclamation Consortium confirms its ability to manage and plan the interventions necessary to deal with the climate emergency and its consequences with respect to the irrigation needs of crops and hydrogeological risks.

The technologies available today, from the European and national weather forecasting system to the ability to create a water balance for each farm and calculate consumption in advance, allow for greater accuracy than in the past and prospects for service economies in water management. The new investments tend to reduce the risks of drought by increasing the capacity to receive rainwater and to avoid floods with the related damage to crops. However, also in terms of business safety, forms of insurance against catastrophic damage have been launched through a national agency supported by all the insurance companies participating in the initiative. The advanced system of controls on the territory and on each individual company belonging to the consortium today allows for high-profile control and a development capacity that guarantees an adequate response in a region only recently affected by the effects of the climate emergency.

Result, Success & Risk Factors

Actual today’s situation

The actual situation can be further developed with good perspectives tackling drought and water scarcity and extreme events, and hydro-geological risk have been identified as the main elements of vulnerability for the urban and rural areas, preparing a mitigation and adaptation plan.

Water saving in the context of present and future climate variability, with possible increasing water scarcity phenomena, is a clear challenging objective for the Reclamation Consortium of Romagna, due to its responsibility for water distribution to agricultural areas for irrigation purposes. Indeed, water saving in agriculture is a common challenge for the entire Po River Basin District, considering that 80% of water resources of this basin are used for irrigation. 

Dependence of any kind of ongoing support/ subsidy?

There is no dependance from pending supports as subsidies to be paid back have been included in a recovery plan covered by the Consortium’s current accounts, while there will be initiatives aimed to exploit further projects, such as photovoltaic panel systems, contributing to decrease the dependance from the energy costs, in correspondence of funding from the regional complementary measures to the CAP Strategic National Plan.

Dependence of specific regional/ personal aspects?

The dependance of specific regional aspects are due to the strategic importance of water resources for the irrigated crops, mostly fruit and vegetable cultivations and the increased risks due to climate change with drought periods followed by heavy rains with consequent risks of damages to the seasonal and permanent crops.

Programming interventions with the reconversion of disused quarries into reservoirs and the use of purified wastewater to make it suitable for cultivation therefore aim to improve land security and increase the awareness of the consortium’s member farmers towards water saving and responsible management through decision support technologies in irrigation practices.

Applicability in other regions/ other situations

The case study can be applicable to other regions/situations for similar kinds of bodies in charge of water management. The main choices made are related to (i) expansion of the capacity of reservoirs and improvement of the quality of purified water for agricultural use, (ii) digital control of water consumption in agriculture and decision support system for the reduction of water needs, iii) data  through the use of satellite imagery techniques (in this case LANDSAT 8 and SENTINEL 2A), that allow to assess soil humidity and hence to identify possible areas irrigated but not declared to the Consortium,  iv) effective communication through computerized system also allowing a constant communication with farmers through SMS, keeping them informed on the opening and closing of the irrigation season, possible water deficit and solutions implemented to address critical situations.

Project N. 2022-1-DE02-KA220-VET-000089615

Contact email: info@innocsa.eu

Privacy Policy
·
Cookies Policy

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

This license enables reusers to distribute,  remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-SA includes the following elements: BY: credit must be given to the creator. SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.