The overflow of water from the top of the Ridracoli dam began in the middle of the night.
With a drop of 104 meters, the water thunders downstream in the course of the Bidente river, fueling a show that over the course of this weekend will attract many people eager to witness the phenomenon of the great waterfall up close.
For the occasion, in fact, the dam will be open to the public.
The previous overflow dates back to May 2021. Since 2000 the overflow has occurred every year, with the exception of 2007, an extremely dry year, and in 2022 when the water reached only 30 centimeters from the overflow.
Usually the overflows take place in spring, at the height of the rains of that period.
After two years the overflow from the Ridracoli dam returns
In winter they only occurred in 2002, 2005, 2010, 2019 and this year.
Currently, over 33 million liters of water are stored behind the immense concrete wall of the dam.
Optimal situation to meet the forthcoming spring and especially summer water needs of the Romagna aqueduct.
"The summer season for the Romagna Riviera is safe from a water point of view".
Tonino Bernabè, president of Romagna Acque, the company that manages the Romagna sources, told ANSA, commenting on the overflowing of the Ridracoli dam (Forlì-Cesena).
On an inspection of the main water infrastructure in the area, Bernabè explains that "the fact that the basin is full is excellent news from the point of view of the water needs of Romagna for drinking purposes, in particular for the coastal municipalities, because in summer the demand for water for tourist uses increases".
Recent disruptions have played a key role.
The magic number for Ridracoli is 33, they are the millions of cubic meters that the artificial lake of the Romagna Apennines contains, beyond which the evocative phenomenon of overflowing takes place, which every time attracts onlookers and hikers, given that the
The trampling surface of the dam is part of the Cai paths of the Casentinesi Forest National Park, which is a UNESCO heritage site
.
The rare event "guarantees us security at a time when the Po is in great pain and affects the ability to irrigate the fields. Emilia-Romagna, in fact, is the last region downstream of the Po Valley. In the Alps, in Lombardy and Piedmont, it snowed 50% less than usual. The data is even worse than in 2022 ", notes the president.
Now "the coastal area has a positive situation, because the dam is full. This allows us not to draw on the wells and have them refilled".
Ridracoli alone "satisfies 50-60% of the water needs of Romagna".
But "the frequency of droughts is getting closer and closer".
The latest crises are those of 2002, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2022 and 2023. "These problems are becoming structural", underlines Bernabè, who asks "