The rains of the past few days have caused the water level in the Pula guard canal to rise to a level not seen in many years . The height of the banks keeps the risk of flooding at bay, but highlights the complete neglect of the responsible authorities in maintaining the riverbed.
The problem isn't so much the typical vegetation (such as reeds, which abound at the mouth), but the growth of tall trees. This is met with general disinterest. Interventions are authorized by the General Directorate of the Regional Hydrographic District, but notification must be made by the Municipality . Many in the village hope that, in the spring or next summer, once the canal is dry, intervention will finally be possible after years and years. The height of the trees is the best testimony to how neglected the problem has been.
In a statement, Pula's mayor, Walter Cabasino, commented : "Thanks to the work done to fill the banks in the city center over the last 15 years, the Rio Pula is 100% safe, without a shadow of a doubt. The only problem we're having is the closure of the mouth during rough seas and southeast winds, which is independent of cleanliness. This is an event that has been occurring in recent years due to both the shift in the prevailing wind direction and the low rainfall. However, if such an event were to occur," the mayor added, "we had mechanical equipment ready to intervene, as happened in the Campu Matta pond in Santa Margherita. Raising these alarms doesn't help anyone. In the city center, the riverbed is 140 meters wide immediately after the bridge and 110 meters wide at the cemetery, with banks ranging from 6 meters to 4 meters high at the final section. So it seems to us that, for it to become dangerous, a significant amount of water would have to fall." The mayor of Pula adds that "from a hydraulic standpoint, the guard channel is something else entirely. Another notable aspect is that the river falls under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan city, which must ensure its cleanliness. A few months ago, we had a meeting with the metropolitan city to explain the problems at the mouth to the technicians. This was followed by a joint inspection with the municipal technicians and the Administration (in attendance were the Mayor, Councilor Elisabetta Loi, and Stefano Deidda). For the Metropolitan City, the General Director, Engineer Alessandro Sanna, the Manager, Engineer Paolo Mereu, and a hydraulic engineer were also present. According to the latest news," Cabasino reports, "the General Director told me that he has prepared a project that will take time due to the complexities of the authorization process. At the time, we also requested the riverbed to be cleaned. The cleaning was also requested recently; the management told us that they were working upstream in areas deemed more critical and that they would then move to Pula."
(Unioneonline)