European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 07, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Can Venice he save floods official inaction threaten cultural jewel by Mercer Cross National geographic the sirens wailed the Waters of the Adriatic sea crept into St. Mark s Square and a cold chill struck the memory of every venetian who had suffered through the historic floods of 1966, it was nov. 4 a 25 years to the Day after the unwelcome tides Rose More than 6 feet above their Normal level wreaking devastation on the centuries old buildings and monuments of this magic City built on tiny islands Quot Acqua altar is italian for Quot High water Quot the strange phenomenon that visits this decaying Renaissance capital with increasing regularity. Usually occurring in the fall and Winter the phenomenon is the product of rain barometric pressure and Quot sirocco Quot winds from the Sahara which raise the water level in the Northern Adriatic venetians Are hardly strangers to \ flooding of their canal laced streets and squares. Apart from its anniversary visit this years nov. 4 High water was unexceptional the fourth flood of the season some Ever present tourists a mainstay of the City s Economy delightedly rolled up their trousers and sloshed Barefoot through the knee deep water. Residents took it in stride. They donned wellingtons knee High rubber boots or hip boots and went about their business. Wooden catwalks were erected on scaffolding in St Mark s and other Low lying squares enabling pedestrians to move about with dry feet and once again concerned citizens All Over the world took notice of the natural and Man made forces that conspire at an accelerating rate to destroy Venice. A Quarter Century after the 1966 catastrophe much remains to be done. More than two thirds of the City s buildings Many of them 11th and 12th-Century palaces and churches have damaged bases. More than one third of the plaster on their Walls is affected. In october after High water assaulted Venice for the second time in a few weeks mayor Ugo Bergamo again Early Thea Century St Marks Square floods about Cavan Slmaa a Yaar. Now it floods 40 Slmaa a Yaar. Called for More Money from the italian government. Quot i will ask for financing that will guarantee the beginning of a physical Rescue process not Only against High tides but also the damage caused by motorboats Quot he said. Early in this Century St. Mark s Square the lowest Point in the City flooded an average of seven times a year. Now the average is 40 limes a year. Along with the world s oceans the level of the Adriatic has been rising. Since 1900 of has increased More than 4 inches if predictions Are Correct it will Rise even More because of global warming. At the same time Venice has sunk nearly 5 inches for a total subsidence of Aboul 9 inches. The drop in land level is attributed to water Wells in Mainland suburbs. When pumping was prohibited in the 1980s, subsidence stopped. V the City of Venice is a 2-Square-mile Dot in a 212-Square-mile Lagoon. Its population is steadily dwindling a from 175,000 in 1971 to about 78,000 today a As residents move to More habitable affordable places. A Complex sequence of environmental disasters brought on by. Overdevelopment has polluted the Lagoon to the Point where some action is necessary to save it and surrounding towns and cities. Broad based activity was launched in 1987 by the new Venice consortium a group of 26 italian companies created by a 1984 National Law to confront the daunting challenges. Working closely with the consortium has been the 24-nation, Paris based organization for economic cooperation and development which just finished an extensive three year Case study of the Venice coastal zone. The consortium a most ambitious and most publicized project appropriately called Moses would hold Back Adriatic tides when they become too High. Moses is a prototype for a proposed system of nearly 80 submerged Gates beneath the three entrances to the Venice Lagoon. During High tides the Gates would Rise automatically out of the water to form a Barrier that would keep the tides from flooding the Lagoon. Consortium officials say that the prototype works and that construction of the system could begin As Early As 1992 and be completed by 2000. But most of the Money has not been made available by the italian government. The estimated Cost of All consortium projects is about $4.2 billion. Francesco mandarin head of the consortium a research office reflects the frustration Over government inaction. A either the government allocates the Money Quot he tells National geographic Quot or we find another Way of financing this project. Its very much up in the  Quot Venice is flooded by indifference read the headline of an italian newspaper in August. Quot the government has to realize that without continuous financing Venice will die Quot Luigi Zanda chairman of the consortium told the newspaper. Quot we have not received any financial help since 1988,&Quot in the historical Center of Venice the famed canals double As a sewerage system that is decades overdue for dredging. Summer brings algae. In the dry sunny summer of 1988, Green Quot blooms Quot from agricultural chemicals clogged the Lagoon emitting noxious Hydrogen sulfite Vapours and Breeding billions of insects that stopped trains and planes. Page 14 a the stars and stripes saturday