Quantcast
Channel: About Harvest » Italy
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11

Orta Reloaded: The Rebirth of a Lake

0
0

Film by Martin Atkin:

25 years ago Lake Orta in northern Italy was the most acidified deep water lake in the world. Today the water quality is good, fish and other aquatic creatures are returning, the water industry is an important international market player, and the lake itself attracts tens of thousands of tourists each year.

Until the 1920s, people and lake lived in harmony. There was a thriving fishing community. But an environmental disaster started when the Bemberg rayon factory opened. For more than half a century, thousands of tonnes of heavy metals and ammonium sulphate were pumped directly into the lake each year. The damage was compounded by discharges from other industries. Within a generation, the lake was all but dead.

The rebirth of Lake Orta dates from the 1970s when tougher regulations and improved technology greatly reduced industrial pollution. In 1989-90, scientists carried out a controversial and ground-breaking experiment, by pumping 15,000 tonnes of crushed limestone into the water to restore the natural pH balance.

Today the lake is clean enough to drink and swim in. There are plenty of fish, and other flora and fauna are well on the way to recovery.

About Harvest, LLC shares stories about food and agriculture. Subscribe to receive stories about the science, history and relevance of agricultural crops grown and harvested around the world.


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 11

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images