A.S.A.P. - Actions for Systemic Aquifer Protection - LIFE06/ENV/IT/000255

If you take out more water than goes in, the aquifer level (i.e. the groundwater reservoir) declines and becomes more vulnerable to contamination; eventually the aquifer will be depleted and become unusable. To remedy the problem we need take less water and save it.

The A.S.A.P. (LIFE06/ENV/IT/000255) Project was approved for Community co-funding in the framework of the LIFE 2006 Programme (Decision LIFE06-ENV-IT-000255). Activities started in October 2006 and ended in October 2009.

A.S.A.P. involved the hydrologic district of Pontedera (Pisa, IT), apart from a few zones already targeted by previous experimental actions. The environmental centre is Padule di Bientina, which is the principal site from where water is abstracted.

The A.S.A.P. project contributed to preserving our environment by diminishing pumping needs by means of optimal regulation of water pressure. This way we can cut off water abstraction and reduce the vulnerability of aquifer due to overexploitation.

The A.S.A.P. way of work is new, clever and rational: we find and repair leakages while progressively lowering and maintaining pressure at optimal low levels. Using rapid dynamic pressure control valves we reduce stress on water pipes (so they crack less frequently) and we need pumping less water, so the aquifer returns to its original equilibrium.

The A.S.A.P. project  was implemented by Acque SpA (IT) along with its partners Acque Ingegneria Srl (IT), Fundaciòn Instituto Tecnològico de Galicia (ES) and Provincia di Pisa (IT).