Venice: The City of WaterMatthew GorgasRob IlariaJustin PiccilloGregg Stevenson

Site Geology• Venice is located in Northern Italy

• Known as the city of canals, city of water, etc.

• “Streets” are made of water, travelled by gondolas

• Built in the Venetian Lagoon on a series of 118 islands along the Adriatic Sea

Soil Stratigraphy• Since the city is built on the sea,

the soil is mostly sand, silts, and peat

• Late-glacial fluvial-lacustrine sands

• Lagoonal silts

Site Investigation• Constructed on wood piles

• 600 yrs ago, main rivers diverted from lagoon

• 20th Century, artesian wells were drilled

Site Investigation• 1970s, pavements raised and sea walls

strengthened using concrete

• High water (flooding) during high tides

• North-east Italy slowly tipping downwards

Sediment Re-use Topics Addressed

1

1

23

3

4

45

5

Hg

6

78

9 10

11

12

12

1313

1 – erosion/sedimentation 8 – microbial communities in water2 – currents and solid transport 9 - microbial communities in sediment3 – bioaccumulation 10 – pathogens in sediments and water4 – toxicity 11 – salt marsh colonization5 – partitioning 12 – meso and macro-benthic communities6 – Mercury cycling 13 – foraminifiera and ostracods as 7 – effects on phytoplankton environmental indicators

“The General Plan Of Intervention”

MoSE Project

How MoSE Works• Gates are normally filled with water and rest on the ocean

floor

• Compressed air fills gates to expel water, lifting gates

• Gates are kept up for periods of high water, 7 times a year

• System takes 30 minutes to lift and 15 minutes to retract

MoSE in Action• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUXNhYs

hUbw

Lessons Learned • Taking natural resources

from the ground can lead to soil compaction.

• Building on top of a marshy land leads to obvious problems.

• The foundation that supports Venice is not up to the current building standards.

More Lessons Learned• If the foundation was made by current engineers it

would be of much sounder construction.• There is no sewage system, so wastewater is dumped

right into the canals. • Practicing sustainability is the only way Venice will

survive. • The foundations of Venice must either be raised or

the flooding must be controlled.• The Mose project will only prolong the inevitable if

the sea level continues to rise.

References• Deheyna, D., L. Shaffer (2007) “Saving Venice: Engineering and ecology in

the Venice lagoon”, Technology in Society, 205-13.

• McClennen, C., A. Ammerman, S. Schock (1997) “Framework Stratigraphyfor the Lagoon of Venice, Italy: Revealed in New Seismic-Reflection Profiles”, Journal of Coastal Research, 745-59.

• "Venice's 1,500 Year Battle With The Waves". BBC News (2003) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3069305.stm.

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venice/solutions.html

• http://www.wisegeek.com/is-venice-sinking.htm

• http://www.architectureweek.com/2001/0815/building_1-1.html

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUXNhYshUbw