Venice Stops Flooding and Holds Back Sea Waters with Mile-Long Barrier Network

Venice has just successfully prevented flooding and has held the sea back to establish a barrier network a mile long.

Keeping the City Dry

This network of Venetian barriers was made active last October 3, 2020, due to a flooding event. 

This barrier project is known as the MOSE or Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, and it has already been underway since the year 1984. This year, the barrier was finally used for the first time.  

Blocking the Sea

The barrier network held back the Adriatic Sea's incoming tide, with the barriers rising from Venice lagoon to block the high waters from entering.

The MOSE is composed of 78 separate gates that could be raised to protect the city of Venice from high tides that can reach a total height of up to 4.2 feet.

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Acqua Alta

Today, the Acqua Alta season is being experienced in the city. Acqua Alta means "high water." This season spans the month of October up to March the following year. For years, damaging floods have plagued the city from the high tides that come during this time.

Because Venice is an island among crisscrossing canals, it has higher chances of flooding. The Acqua alta occurs during the wintertime. It arises from the combined forces of the periodic seawater movements, the strong winds from the south, and the sea's tides.

Worsening Floods

The rising waters have been occurring more frequently in the past decades, and because of climate change, the floods are getting worse. 

The record of the worst flood in Venice in more than half a century occurred last year. Then, more than three feet of water submerged St Mark's Square.

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Help from the MOSE

Last Saturday, however, the fully operational MOSE system successfully blocked an incoming tide.

Even though this was the first time it was used, the system was designed as early as 1984. Its planning was spurred by the devastating tide which the city endured decades ago. 

The success of the barrier network surprised many residents, who feared that it would fail. However, when it did what it was built to do, one resident called the success "historic."

And indeed it is. This is the first time in the history of Venice that it was spared from the high tides. The barrier's successful deployment changed everything.

The Downside

Not all is good news, however. According to a report, the network's building process was plagued with opposition coming from conservation and environmental groups, allegations of corruption, and cost overruns.

The project is still to be finished. It is expected to be completed by December this year, and so far, its construction has already cost taxpayers 6.4 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros). It is projected to cost a total of 8 billion dollars upon its completion.

According to Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice said that the barrier's deployment is historic, with immense satisfaction from its residents who have lived for decades with the helpless desperation of waters flooding their entire city, which caused much damage. 

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