The Fucino catchment (862 km²) is located to the east of Rome and is an important agricultural area for horticulture, cereals and fodder crops. The area has supported highly productive agricultural systems based on an abstraction of surface water and groundwater from public and private wells and a large system of irrigation and drainage canals.
Over the last 20 years water resources have reduced rapidly and the plain is now highly exposed and vulnerable to natural hazards including flooding and drought. The project aims to develop the rehabilitation of storm water drainage system on the plateau (12,000 ha).
The overall project objective was the quantitative and qualitative analysis of surface and groundwater resources of the Fucino basin in order to define the structural and non-structural measures needed to protect and improve the existing water resources and the preparation of a Basin Management Plan in line with the prescriptions of the EU Water Framework Directive.
A prioritised list of measures was prepared, taking into account the urgency of the measures, cost-benefit analysis and existing constraints.
The institutional framework was analysed to highlight weaknesses and strengths of the institutions responsible of water management and to propose measures to improve the management of the flood risk integrated in a strategic framework of environmental and land use planning.
