Venice, Italy is sinking at about 1mm per year. The sea level in the Northern Adriatic is rising. At peak tidal conditions, referred to as acqua alta, almost half of Venice’s streets have been known to flood. None of this is new and for the last 17 years, the city has been building a series of 78 moving barriers in the three inlets to the Venician lagoon, to prevent city flooding.
The project, called MOSE (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, Experimental Electromechanical Module), has been plagued by delays, cost overruns, and scandal and has often been called a failure in the media. Nevertheless, on October 3, something remarkable took place. During a particularly high tide, the MOSE flood gates were raised and they worked. The waters of the Adriatic were held back. The streets of Venice did not flood.
Strictly speaking, the system is still in the final stages of construction. MOSE is scheduled to be completed and fully operational by December of next year.
After critics doubted whether MOSE would ever be completed, the new question is whether MOSE will prove to be too little too late. Designed to protect Venice and the lagoon from tides of up to 3 metres (9.8 ft), critics now worry that rising sea levels will mean the barriers will have to stay up permanently, cutting off shipping and turning the lagoon into a stagnant breeding ground for algae.
In the near term, at least, MOSE appears to be working.
Thanks to Roberta Weisbrod for contributing to this post.
There may be a day when these barriers are left in the upright position constantly. Tho this does nothing with the head ache of the sinking city.
The idiots made the barriers to low! Water will spill-over the walls in no time.
Don’t worry, if the metal used is anything like that used on their cars, the barriers will be leaking from rust holes long before they are over-topped.