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The Po River is the longest river in Italy at 661 km (411 miles) in length.  It has a complex delta, containing 14 mouths arranged into five groups: the Po di Levante, Po di Maestra, Po della Pila, Po delle Tolle, and Po di Goro e di Gnocca.  Comprising a third of Italy's population, nearly 17 million people live in the Po River Basin. The main land use of the basin is for agricultural purposes (41%).

Photo Source: Rosiello, Angelo. (8 October 2022). Drought in the Po river basin district, still an emergency. SmartGreen. Retrieved from https://www.smartgreenpost.com/2022/10/08/drought-in-the-po-river-basin-district-still-an-emergency/

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The Po River is 661 km (411 miles) long with a watershed area of 71,327 km² (70,000 km² in Italy, very minimal in France and the rest originating from Switzerland). Its headwaters are in the Cottian Alps, which form the border of France and Italy, and it flows eastward, ultimately draining into the Adriatic Sea.   The Po River's discharge rate is 48,400 ft³/s.  Annual precipitation is 36.77", with precipitation rates forecasted to continue to decrease in coming years.  The Po River carries enough sediment to the Adriatic Sea that it's estimated the delta extends another 80 hectares each year.

Photo Source: Basin-Info.net, "Po River Basin".  2022. http://www.basin-info.net/river-basins/po-river-basin-br-europe

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The Po River Basin generates 40% of Italy's Gross Domestic Product and 37% of its industrial activities. Vineyards cover 230,000 hectares of the catchment.  The Piedmont region in the northwest of Italy, in particular, produces world renowned wines with names such as Barolo and Barbaresco originating there.

The river itself provides income generation to clam and oyster farmers who harvest product from the Po Delta region.  The Po is also a main source of Italy's energy generation.  Dams along the length of the river harness its downhill flow and produce electricity for the region.

Photo Source: Piedmont Wine. (15 November 2022). Retrieved from https://www.wine-searcher.com/images/region/piedmont-piemonte-3572-1-3.jpg?width=734

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The Po River basin is home to over 17 million inhabitants, and contains 12 cities with populations over 100,000 each.  Notable cities in the basin are Milan, Turin, Piacenza, Cremona, and Ferrara.  The Po is a drinking water source, hydroelectricity generator, and flows through 3,200 municipalities.  It also serves as a source of income from tourism as river cruises navigate from the Adriatic Sea up the River Po visiting various historic towns along its riverbanks.

Photo Source: Deduck, Natalie, "10 amazing reasons to visit Turin at least once in a lifetime!". 29 June 2021. https://thebestofturin.com/reasons-to-visit-turin-italy/

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The Po River Basin's primary land use is for agricultural purposes.  Approximately 3.1 M cattle and 6 M pigs are produced from the Po Basin, along with rice, wheat, grapes and tomatoes, among other crops.  As a result of this large scale livestock and crop production from the land, vast amounts of water are drawn from the Po River for irrigation and livestock consumption. Of the 20.5 billion cubic meters of water drawn from the Po River annually, farmers' consumption account for 16.5 billion cubic meters.

Photo Source: Hughes, Rebecca Ann, "Record Drought In Italy’s Po Valley Threatens Water Supplies And Food Production". Forbes.com, 17 June 2022. https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccahughes/2022/06/17/record-drought-in-italys-po-valley-threatens-water-supplies-and-food-production/?sh=73db4e256316

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*Image shows a sign marking the Swiss border in the Alps.

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In the northern reaches of the Po River Watershed, the Alps form a border between Italy and Switzerland.  As warming global temperatures melt longstanding glaciers that formed the border between the two countries, lines of demarcation are shifting and "melting away".

The drainage divide (the point at which surface water runs to either side of the mountain) forms a portion of the border between Switzerland and Italy.  As the Theodul Glacier has begun to retreat, the border has begun to encroach on Italian land.  Two-thirds of a mountain lodge, originally built in 1984 within Italy's borders, now sits withing Swiss territory.

This example highlights the growing possibility for conflict along the borders.  In reference to Theodul Glacier alone, from 1973-2010, there was a reduction in the mass of the glacier by nearly 25%.  As global warming increases temperatures throughout the watershed, glaciers will continue to retreat.  As this occurs, borders will continue to have to be negotiated and redrawn in the future.

Photo Source: Camut, Nicholas. (26 July 2022). A melting glacier is moving the Italian-Swiss border near one of the world's largest ski resorts. Euronews. Retrieved from https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/07/26/a-melting-glacier-is-moving-the-italian-swiss-border-near-one-of-the-worlds-largest-ski-re

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*Map of average precipitation values of Po River Basin shown in millimeters.

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The Po River Valley has a climate ranging from humid subtropical to mild continental.  The highest levels of precipitation fall in the Alps to the north and in the southern watershed.  Average rainfall is 36.77" annually and current projections calculate this number to decrease in coming years as climate change continues to heat the region.

Photo Source: Montanari, A.: Hydrology of the Po River: looking for changing patterns in river discharge, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16, 3739–3747, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-16-3739-2012, 2012

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*Maps of Po River Watershed comparing dam numbers from 1912 vs 1970.

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The Po River is the longest river in Italy, and early in the 20th century humans began harnessing its waters to generate power.  The number of hydroelectricity dams along the river increased greatly over the century, and the inhabitants of the Po River Basin gained an energy source.  Today, nearly one-fifth of Italy's energy is produced by hydroelectricity.

The creation of the dams did not come without their negative effects.  Dams change the aquatic and terrestrial environments of a river, up- and downstream from them.  As the dams are created, flooding occurs upstream as the rivers flow is tempered and reservoirs created.  The animal and plant life living along the riverbanks are negatively impacted as a result.  Downstream from the dam's creation, the temperature of the river is altered.  As water is released from the lower depths of a reservoir to generate electricity, the temperature of the river downstream is lowered by the addition of the cold water release.  Aquatic species accustomed to warmer waters may not be able to survive the reduced temps.  The dams also affect the natural cycling of the nutrients from headwaters to the mouth and out to the sea, punctuating and reducing the levels.

Photo Source: Parrinello, G., Bizzi, S. & Surian, N. The retreat of the delta: a geomorphological history of the Po river basin during the twentieth century. Water Hist 13, 117–136 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12685-021-00279-3

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In response to Italian Law 183, which established the river basin as needing resource management, soil and water monitoring, and environmental protection, the Po River Basin Authority (POBA) was established in 1990.  Since its creation, POBA's aim has been to encourage sustainable, eco-conscious, preventative measures be taken by inhabitants/businesses of the Po River Basin to protect the quantity and quality of the watershed's aquatic resources.  Data collection/analysis, community outreach educational event hosting, and the overseeing and management of regional planning/water resources have been the main duties of POBA.

Photo Source: Photo Source: Navarra, Luigi, & Bruno, Luca. (2 August 2022). Italy's salty Po Delta hurting agriculture, fisheries. AP. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/droughts-weather-italy-76923f07ddf081ad78d1bc41d3bd93cf

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The River Po, its wetlands, deltas and banks play a critical role in supporting the avian biodiversity of Italy.  Species such as the Ferruginous Duck, Pygmy Cormorant, Whiskered Terns and Red-footed Falcons feed, nest and breed along the Po.

The Po Delta Regional Park, attracts ornithologists, photographers and birders yearly drawn to witnessing the vast array of over 300 species of bird along the Po River.  In doing so, the avian biodiversity that the river is able to support, generates income for the surrounding communities in the form of ecotourism.

Photo Source: Wikipedia contributors. (2022, September 30). Pygmy cormorant. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 24, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pygmy_cormorant&oldid=1113201158

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Endangered Italian Nase

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Endangered Italian Nase

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Chondrostoma soetta, the Italian Nase, is a fish listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as an endangered species.  It is found in freshwater habitats, with the majority of its numbers being documented in the Po River Basin waterbodies.  Threats from dams and water management use, agricultural pollution, invasive species (such as Rutilus rutilus, Silurus glanis and Chondrostoma nasus) and droughts all contribute to the decreasing population numbers of the Italian Nase.

Photo Source: iNatualistUK.org, "Italian Nase (Chondrostoma soetta)". Retrieved from: https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/97713-Chondrostoma-soetta

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Endangered Adriatic Sturgeon

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Endangered Adriatic Sturgeon

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The Adriatic Sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) can reach a length of up to 6 ft. and a weight of up to 55 lbs.  At reproductive age, the Adriatic Sturgeon spawns in freshwater, with the last remaining spawning sites at the confluences of the Po River and its tributaries.  Living for 40-50 years and taking 6-7 years for males, and 8-12 years for females to reach reproductive maturity, the Adriatic Sturgeon has been listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.  The construction of dams along the Po River have interrupted the breeding cycle of the fish and their populations are estimated to have decreased by 80% over the last three generations.  Only those bred in captivity are thought to be keeping the Adriatic Sturgeon species alive.

Photo Source: NOAA, "Adriatic Sturgeon". 15 September 2022. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/adriatic-sturgeon

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: A Visual Representation

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: A Visual Representation

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Climate change has negatively affected the Po River basin.  As Italy is currently facing it's worst drought in 70 years, photos from years prior overlayed with those of present, show the extent of the droughts effect in the above video.  The flow of the river has been drastically reduced, sandbars exposed and the landscape along its riverbanks is parched with a noticeable reduction in vegetation.

Video Source: Askew, Joshua, "Italy drought: Compare satellite images to see how Po River has changed in two years". 29 June 2022. https://www.euronews.com/amp/2022/06/29/italy-drought-compare-satellite-images-to-see-how-po-river-has-changed-in-two-years

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Nitrogen Pollution

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Nitrogen Pollution

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The intense demand on the basin's land for agricultural purposes, requires the use of synthetic and natural fertilizers.  Livestock manure paired with mineral fertilizers are applied in overabundance, more than the crops can possibly absorb.  Surface runoff from rainfall and irrigation, washes this surplus of nutrients into the river, 80% of the total nitrogen load of the Po River basin, which has led to eutrophication in and a decrease of the biodiversity and health of the Po River.

Photo Source: The Times, "Bleak future for Italian farmers as climate change dries up Po River". https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Ftimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Fdbbc2560-9afe-11ec-8194-a993851c15ba.jpg?crop=1600%2C900%2C0%2C0&resize=1500

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Current Disaster of the Po Watershed: Severe Drought

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Current Disaster of the Po Watershed: Severe Drought

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The Po River Basin is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in its history.  Water discharge levels into the delta from the Po were recorded at 3,350 cubic feet a second, an all-time low, over the summer months.  A decrease in the snowpack accrued during the winter months, as well as extremely low precipitation levels have led to the basin facing water shortages and restrictions, and an estimated 70% of crops failing. Visually, the Po has shrunk considerably in width and sandbars are now frequently exposed.  The area's inhabitants are at a loss for how to remedy the problem and fear that solutions may come too little, too late for the Po Watershed.

Video Source: CNN. Italian authorities: '70% of crops are gone' in Po River Delta. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E4Eg_ixHBw&t=18s

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Italian authorities: '70% of crops are gone' in Po River Delta

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Increasing Saltwater Reach

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Increasing Saltwater Reach

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The saltwater reach up the River Po has been increasing.  The compounded effects of climate change and human consumption on the river have led to devastating results.  Increased temperatures and reduced levels of precipitation in the watershed, have led to decreased snowpack and consequently reduced snow melt in the warmer seasons, which reduces the flow of water down the Po.  Lower snowmelt figures paired with an overall reduction in the amount of rainfall in the watershed, has reduced freshwater flow down the river to the Adriatic Sea.  As the image above illustrates, the level of freshwater flow down the river, inhibits the saltwater reach (distance upriver that saltwater is able to travel inland).  As the River Po's freshwater flow has decreased the Adriatic Sea's inland reach has increased drastically.  In the 1960s saltwater was measured at reaching 2km (about a mile), that figure has increased to 38kms (about 24 miles) in 2022.

This increased reach of saltwater has devastating effects on the services that the ecosystem is able to provide for the watershed.

Photo Source: Webb, Paul. Introduction to Oceanography. Pressbooks. Retrieved from https://rwu.pressbooks.pub/webboceanography/chapter/13-6-estuaries/

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Marine Catch Reduction

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Marine Catch Reduction

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Clams are harvested from the Po River Delta's brackish waters and are then sold to market for a dish the area is known for: Spaghetti alle vongole.  Fishers rely on the sale of the prized clams from the Po Delta, for income.  As the Po's water flow continues to decrease, the salinity of the water increases.  This, coupled with annual temperatures that continue to increase causing the delta to dry up, is resulting in disappearance of the clam's breeding habitat.

As numbers of clam harvest decrease, clam farmers, fearing more die-off, are going to market and selling their catch at  reduced prices.  They are impacted economically not only by the reduced catch numbers but by low prices.

Photo Source: Navarra, Luigi, & Bruno, Luca. (2 August 2022). Italy's salty Po Delta hurting agriculture, fisheries. AP. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/droughts-weather-italy-76923f07ddf081ad78d1bc41d3bd93cf

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Reduction of Freshwater Levels

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Reduction of Freshwater Levels

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The increased reach of saltwater from the Adriatic Sea up the river Po, brings a host of issues for the communities that live near the delta.  Humans are affected by the reduction of the  freshwater drinking source.  The Po River Delta is 3m below sea level so there is a constant flow of saltwater into the groundwater.  With an increasing reach, freshwater aquifers are being infiltrated and contaminated with high salinity levels.
As the freshwater drinking sources are being decreased, people are utilizing desalination pumps to treat the river's water for consumption, but the pumps are costly and not an option for most.

The change in salinity of the River Po, is affecting plant and aquatic life as well.  Plants growing along the banks are negatively affected when their roots can no longer draw freshwater from the river as its salinity increases, leading to their eventual deaths.  Species that rely on the freshwater habitat of the Po, are either forced to migrate out of the increasing salinity levels, or those that cannot (immobile animal species or plants) will die with the encroaching saltwater, reducing the biodiversity of the watershed.

Photo Source: Jones, Tobias. 10 July 2022. Quiet Flows the Po: the life and slow death of Italy's longest river. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/10/po-river-italy-drought-climate

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Crop Reduction

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Consequences for the Po Watershed: Crop Reduction

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Various causes are resulting in a reduction of the number of crops the Po River Basin is able to sustain.  Rising annual temperatures caused by global climate change, are increasing evapotranspiration and reducing the replenishment of the soil's water content with lower rainfall amounts.  Lower rainfall is negatively impacting the flow of freshwater in the Po River, and as a result, farmers are restricted in the amount of water they are allowed to pull from the river for irrigation uses.  In the summer of 2022, two months passed where farmers were unable to use the River Po's water for irrigation purposes. These issues are exacerbated in the delta, where increased saltwater reach inland, is increasing the salt content of groundwater and killing plants from below as well. Farmers are being hit hard economically by the issues the watershed is facing and with global climate change on an upward trajectory, it seems no immediate relief is in sight.

Photo Source: Navarra, Luigi, & Bruno, Luca. (2 August 2022). Italy's salty Po Delta hurting agriculture, fisheries. AP. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/droughts-weather-italy-76923f07ddf081ad78d1bc41d3bd93cf

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Restoration Efforts

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Restoration Efforts

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The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Italian Aggregates Association (ANELPA), Po River Basin Authority and the Interregional Agency for the Po (AIPO) are working in conjunction to push forward with an initiative to restore the Po River.  If approved, the €357 million (≅$372.5 million) project has plans to extend restoration efforts in 44 areas of the Po Basin. 1,500 wetland hectares and 340 forest hectares, would be focuses with conservation and restoration of native habitat, and prevention of invasive plant species spread. Also, oxbow lakes and abandoned branches of the river, totaling 51 million cubic meters, are planned to be reconnected.

The restoration plan has, as of May 2021, received approval from both the Italian government and the river authority.  Once the European Commission signs off on the project, plans will move forward. The initiative strives to reclaim the Po River Delta and reduce the artificiality of the river by 37 km (23 miles) by March 2026.

Photo Source: "Delta Po - Biosphere Reserve". https://www.biosferadeltapo.it/delta-po-biosphere-reserve/

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Air Quality Standards

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Air Quality Standards

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Due to the geography of the area, the Po Basin suffers from severe smog pollution.  With mountain ranges bordering the valley from north to west and in the south, not much wind circulates air through the area. Pollutants accumulate in the atmosphere reducing the air quality to unhealthy levels.  The Po Valley is among the highest in Europe for air pollution levels.  The causes of this are the burning of fossil fuels for private transportation, energy and agricultural emissions.

Solutions are being sought to improve air quality.  Incentives for the purchase and use of greener appliances, and improving insulation of homes to reduce energy usage are offered to Po Valley residents.  Vehicles that do not meet air quality standards for emissions are limited in use and the same for agricultural use vehicles as the diesel from said vehicles mixes with ammonia from the fertilizers in the atmosphere, forming nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas.

Photo Source: https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP. N4BtO15QugWxpH8BuKCM5QHaDy?pid=ImgDet&rs=1

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Drip Irrigation 

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Drip Irrigation 

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With agriculture being a main draw from the Po River's waters, a solution to the typical irrigation system must be used going forward.  Drip system irrigation should be implemented in the Po River Basin.  Such systems can reduce farm water use by 60%, while increasing the yield of crops as well.  The reduction in water use, coupled with new technology being developed to lower the amount of energy needed to run the systems, will combine to reduce the farmer's pull from the Po for irrigation use and yield more crops for the basin's inhabitants.

Photo Source: Chu, J. (19 Apr 2017). Watering the World: New design cuts costs, energy needs for drip irrigation, bringing the systems within reach for more farmers. MIT News. Retrieved from https://news.mit.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article__image_gallery/public/images/201704/MIT-Drop-Irrigation_0.jpg?itok=3JPIxAbs

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Solar Energy

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Solar Energy

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Currently, only 3.72% of Italy's power comes from solar energy and 81.64% comes from fossil fuels.  If Italy continues burning fossil fuels, they will play a part in the demise of their Po River Watershed.  The decline in precipitation levels and increase in temperatures of the basin, are fueled by climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.  It will take a global effort to confront the issue of climate change, but Italy must lead by example and construct solar panel farms.  This will reduce the greenhouse emissions from burning fossil fuels, and make up for the lowered output from hydroelectricity as flow of the Po reduces.

The reduced reliance on hydroelectricity will also allow for the removal of selective dams from the Po that may be obstructing nutrient flow, fish migration and altering river temperatures.  Solar farms will also create new avenues of employment for the people living in the Po Basin.

Photo Source: Why Solar? Benefits of Solar Farms. (n.d.). Innovative Solar Systems. Retrieved from https://innovativesolarsystemsllc.com/2019/08/why-solar-benefits-of-solar-farms/

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Desalination Plants

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Solutions for the Po Watershed: Desalination Plants

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Desalination plants are used globally with more than 300 million people receiving their drinking water by this means. De-sal plants take in sea water, and through the use of reverse-osmosis technology, separate the salt from the water molecules.

As precipitation levels, and annual snowpack accumulation and melt decrease, freshwater sources will continue to be reduced in the Po River Basin.  As the freshwater flow down the river to the sea decreases, saltwater reaching up the river will continue to increase.  A possible solution will be the implementation of these large scale desalination plants to provide drinking water to the populations.

Photo Source: Robbins, J. (11 Jun 2019). As Water Scarcity Increases, Desalination Plants Are on the Rise. YaleEnvironment360. Retrieved from https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-water-scarcity-increases-desalination-plants-are-on-the-rise

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The leverage points of the Po River Watershed System are the population of the Po Basin, the water quality of the Po River and the water level of the Po River.  As the population within the Po River Basin increases, it affects many other aspects of the system such as increasing the demand for livestock/crops, which in turn demands the need for irrigation, and fertilizers applied to crops.  These factors then influence the water level, through pull from the river for irrigating crops, and the quality of the Po River, from fertilizer runoff and the resulting eutrophication of the waterway.  A decreased water level leads to an increased reach of saltwater up the Po from the Adriatic Sea, which negatively affects the aquatic life, marine catch from the river, and levels of freshwater suitable for drinking.  Also, low water level of the river affects its flow which changes the amount of energy generated from hydroelectric dams.  Reduced water quality of the Po affects the level of biodiversity that the waterway can sustain, which in turn affects the income generated from tourism and fishing.

The spatial boundary that this system is being considered under is 1900-2100.  This longer time frame results in feedbacks that, at present may seem reinforcing, throwing the whole system out of equilibrium, with passing years will become balancing.  As the Po River Basin becomes less habitable to humans, the loops will lean toward balancing because humans will be forced to leave the area to find water, food and employment opportunities elsewhere.  This will result in nature beginning to balance itself again.

Photo Source: Natalie Vandersloot. (November 2022).

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