Water Common Good Naples

WHO WE ARE

ABC Napoli Azienda Speciale (formerly Arin SpA) is today one of the largest water resources management companies in the South.

It directly serves about one million people in the city area of Naples and a further 650,000 people served indirectly (in sub-distribution) residing in the provinces of Avellino, Benevento, Naples and Caserta.

the water cycle: groundwater and springs
Water cycle: lakes, rivers, deep and superficial aquifers, springs and fountains all originate from rainwater. Glaciers also arise from rainwater (snow).

To understand the origin of these phenomena we must observe the water cycle, simplified here; rainwater, which flows on the ground, washing downwards, is absorbed by permeable soils and rocks, forming large pockets and layers in the subsoil, true natural reservoirs from which springs originate or surface and deep aquifers are formed. Some of this water is absorbed by plants or evaporates. As it passes through the soil, it makes the contained salts soluble, diversifying from place to place.

The surface water also directly feeds rivers, lakes, basins (artificial if created by man), the underground water feeds, as seen, the aquifers, from which we pump up the drinking water flows that are necessary for us. Groundwater can feed rivers and lakes from below.
The artesian groundwater, unlike that of the groundwater, naturally rises to the surface, because it is subject to water pressure that pushes it upwards.
The waters that fall into the mountains, if the temperature is low enough, give rise to glaciers and glaciers. Eventually all the waters return to the sea and the cycle begins again.
The protection of surface waters (rivers, reservoirs, transitional waters, marine and coastal waters) is based on planning, management, control and evaluation of these water bodies.

Each Region elaborates and prepares the guidelines and lines for the development of the quality monitoring networks and the ecological values of its territory, the collection of the collected data. Furthermore, in line with what is defined by the Water Protection Plan, the knowledge framework on the water resource in the regional territory is updated in relation to the identification of water bodies defined as "significant", the qualitative classification of water bodies and the achievement of environmental quality objectives. established by the European Directives (Directive 2000/60 / EC) and by the Italian legislation (Legislative Decree 152/99 and subsequent amendments).

The serino aqueduct: introduction

1. The connection of the springs.
2. The free masonry pipeline starting from the springs and up to the castles of the large siphons on the hill of Cancello, with the exception of two intermediate siphons (reverses) for crossing the valleys of Tronti and Gruidi.
3. Penstocks, or large siphons starting from the Collina di Cancello up to the reservoirs on the hills of Naples.
4. The two city tanks.
5. Distribution in the city.

The connection system

The connection system is that of underground drainage: divided the territory of the springs into three zones, according to the position and importance of the various springs, three covered canals were built, intended to collect and convey the waters, and the main one was attributed larger dimensions than the other two.
The depth to which these collectors were connected varies, but in general they are found higher than the aquifer.
The springs immediately lateral to the path of the collector pour their waters into them by means of special lights left in the corresponding pier, opening proportionally to the importance of the spring itself.
Over everything spread two layers of pure clay strongly beaten and cemented together by a veil of hydraulic lime powder and above it an earth filling, to protect the springs from surface waters.

The works I
The collection of these waters takes place in a square-plan building divided into three floors from the last of which the aqueduct channel starts. (Plate X). The table also indicates the starting point of the ancient Roman aqueduct for Beneventum (c). In addition, the map of the Urciuoli springs before their collection is indicated and the traces of the draining collectors are drawn.
The new canal of Serino, 59,551 meters long, runs through a path that starts halfway up, part in a natural tunnel inside the mountains, part in the plain according to the natural configuration of the slopes crossed and, where this is not possible, it runs it takes place on canals even of considerable length.
The masonry channel with various stone blocks and free surface, is built with very different sections, varying according to the static thrust transmitted to it by the land crossed.
The canal bridges are over 20 with a development of over 1800 m., The longest of which passes over Rio Noci with 31 arches and almost 500 meters long.
The deep valleys of the Tronti and Gruidi under Altavilla Irpina were crossed by the aqueduct with two batteries of metal pipes (inverted siphons in cast iron).

The works II
The problem of supplying the city of Naples daily from the hill of Cancello was solved by a battery of cast iron pipes, consisting of three large inverted siphons: one with an internal diameter of 700 mm., Intended for feeding the high tank and the others two, with an internal diameter of 800 mm., intended for the low service of the city.
The origin of the siphons took place in two masonry basins placed at different heights on the slope of the Cancello hill towards Naples.
Starting from the foot of the hill, part of the Campania plain develops from the basins, in which the large supply pipes are buried.
These, after a journey of over 22 km, supply the two city tanks (of the time) with the flow rates destined for the two networks connected to them.
The lowest reservoir located in the vicinity of the Capodimonte palace, underground, has a volume of over 82,000 cubic meters and consists of five tanks dug into the yellow tuff, 10.80 m high. 9.25 m wide. and in which the overflow of the water is 8 m. with respect to the audience; the altitude with respect to the sea is m. 92.50.
The Scudillo reservoir, located at an altitude of 183 meters above sea level, instead had a total capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, and fed all the medium-high users of Naples at the end of the 19th century. Over time, the capacity of this tank has been increased to 145,000 cubic meters.

The modern era
Today the city of Naples is served by four aqueducts that transport the water of three regions to the Neapolitan city, its surroundings and northwestern Campania: Lazio, Molise and Campania itself.

The water transported has different productions: from source, from deep and superficial aquifers.
The transport system is the same for three of them; from the place of production, the drinking water is conducted by long open channels, built in stone material, up to loading tanks located on hills overlooking the cities, between an altitude of 90 and 240 meters above sea level. forced to feed the compensation reservoirs.
The water transported and distributed by all these tanks is disinfected with chlorine-based systems. Along the path of the aqueducts, well fields often raise the water from the groundwater in the same plants to enhance the flow rates.
However, the construction times of the individual aqueducts differ:

The Serino aqueduct inaugurated in 1885

The Campanian aqueduct in 1958

The Western Campania aqueduct in 1998

The Lufrano (AIR) integration and reserve aqueduct originates with the first post-war wells (1947-48), but its expansion has continued to the present day.

The waters of the Triflisco slopes near Montemaggiore were captured in the mid-1980s following a prolonged drought which caused a serious lack of water for the city of Naples; the waters were used by exploiting the aqueduct systems of Western Campania, in the free-flowing canal already built, as the work was not yet fed.
The waters of these strata are now part of those distributed by the Western Campania aqueduct.
The waters produced by the plants of the Region located in the Campania plain at the foot of the Cancello hill are instead drawn from various well fields, raised on the plants of the hill itself and partly led to the Capodimonte reservoir, in the early 1970s, by a pipeline in steel, 1200 mm in diameter, which can be considered as an aqueduct in itself.

The power of naples in the 1950s
At the end of the Second World War, following a notable drought in the years 1946, 1947, the water supply provided to the city by the sources of the Serino was particularly low.

With the help of the weapon of the allied genius, the groundwater, gushing over the plain east of Naples, was transferred to the city: the ancient waters feeding the Neapolitan population through the Bolla aqueduct.

The primitive plant, consisting of some wells drilled in the current area of the Cittadella in Casoria, poured the waters from the aquifer into the old Bolla canal, restored and sectioned for the new use.

At the beginning of the 1950s the initial aqueduct became insufficient and the Naples Aqueduct Company, in agreement with the Neapolitan municipality, decided to strengthen the well field.

The project involved the construction of a new well field (the ECA wells) to supply a modern lifting station for the relaunch of further flows towards the city. The transport of the new water (up to 500 liters per second) took place with two pipes of 600 mm in diameter, in prestressed reinforced concrete with cup joints, from the power plant to Capodichino and to the eastern area on both sides up to Capodimonte reservoir.

The scheme also envisaged gravity feeding of the islands of Procida and Ischia from the S. Stefano reservoir located in via S. Domenico at about 100 meters above sea level; the work was designed and executed by the new Cassa per il Mezzogiorno. The water supply of the municipalities of the Neapolitan hinterland was also rationalized and rearranged.

Therefore, at the turn of the 1950s, the water production that fed the populations of the Neapolitan territory was supplied by the water of the Serino springs, for a maximum of 2200 liters per second and that raised by the Lufrano aquifers, for about 800-1000 liters per second. second.

Adductions in Naples in the 1960s
The sixties saw in Naples an increase in building constructions especially towards Vomero, Arenella and Posillipo, as well as the strengthening of Fuorigrotta and the industrial area to the east of the city.

To the oldest reservoirs of Capodimonte, Scudillo, (the latter already upgraded in the post-war period up to 145,000 cubic meters in volume) and S. Stefano, are added the reservoirs financed by the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno: S. Giacomo, Cangiani, Camaldoli.

In order to feed the high areas of Arenella, Cangiani and Camaldoli as much as possible by gravity, a new 1020 mm diameter pipeline in prestressed reinforced concrete is built starting from the loading tank of the Collina di Cancello at 245 meters above sea level. 26 kilometers, which allows the new reservoir of S. Giacomo to be fed without lifting, located at an altitude of 230 meters above sea level. This pipeline was built in 1958.

This reservoir of 60,000 cubic meters in volume is still today the arrival point of the gravity waters of Serino.

From this new tank, through a new lifting station, the highest tank of Cangiani was fed (the newly built one of 3700 cubic meters which flanked the one of the 1930s already active for the hospital area).

From this new reservoir was, with another lifting plant, fed that of the Camaldoli, the highest in the city (458 meters above sea level).

With this series power supply system, completed in the sixties, the building expansion of the upper areas of Naples was allowed.