Treviso, 16 July 2025 – Today the new summit at Sant’Artemio to define information activities and reiterate the bathing ban already in force on the river Piave: Region, Authorities of Bacino Alpi Orientali, Province and Prefecture of Treviso met the Municipalities to present the first proposal of a communication kit “saves lives” that highlights the existing prohibitions for citizenship, already regulated by the Regional Plans and the Authority of Bacino, determined by the hydraulic hazards that river areas present by natural conformation.
Based on this first proposed campaign, conceived along the lines of the project “I, You, Us, The Piave – Know it, live it, cure it” promoted by the Authority of the Eastern Alps District, the Region and the Ministry of the Environment, the comments of the Municipalities have been collected and in the next few days the final kit will be sent to all the Administrations of the Province of Treviso and neighboring outside Province.
The meeting was attended by Stefano Marcon, President of the Province of Treviso, Angelo Sidoti, Prefect of Treviso, Marina Colaizzi, Secretary General of the Authority of Bacino Alpi Orientali, Gianpaolo Bottacin, Councilor for the Environment and Civil Protection of the Veneto Region, Silvia Rizzardi, ARPAV contact person, the Police of Treviso, the municipalities of Breda di Piave, mayor Cristiano Mosole, Maserada sul Piave, mayor Lamberto Marini, Nervesa della Battaglia, mayor Mara Fontebasso, Pederobba, mayor Marco Turato, Ponte di Piave, mayor Paola Roma, San Biagio di Callalta, Mayor Valentina Pillon, San Polo di Piave, Mayor Nicola Fantuzzi, Spresiano, Mayor Marco Della Pietra, Susegana, Councillor Alessandro Pettenò (also delegate from the Municipalities of Mareno di Piave and Santa Lucia di Piave), and Volpago del Montello, delegate. Giacomo Visentin.
“Today we have proposed to the Municipalities a communication kit aimed at highlighting the ban on entering the water, since the Piave, by its very nature, has a series of intrinsic characteristics dangerous that, as the Authority of Basin, the Region and the Prefecture, impose a ban on bathing – explains Stefano Marcon, president of the Province of Treviso – the suction effect, currents at high speed and unpredictable, siphons, or underwater passages that can suck a person, The low temperatures that can cause very serious body temperature changes are the basic elements on which to focus to properly inform the community and make it more aware of why there is a ban on bathing. In the light of the meeting, we will work with our offices in these days to define the last details of the campaign and then we will send to all the municipalities of the provincial territory and also to neighboring a ready-to-use kit, composed of informative posters, Graphics and videos for social media and signs to be placed near the river”.
“The dissemination of an information campaign on the dangers of the Piave and, in general, rivers, also facilitates the preparation of specific warnings that remind citizens and those who frequent the river area the prohibitions already existing – emphasizes Angelo Sidoti, Prefect of Treviso – in addition to the guidelines indicated in the posters and ad hoc graphics that will be created for institutional social channels, with appropriate time will also be produced a poster in several languages, impact and simple consultation, Give greater evidence of the ban on entering the water and of the dangers associated with failure to comply with existing standards”.
“I recall that all rivers in Veneto are dangerous because they are characterized by a torrential regime: this means that they can vary their flow in very little time and, moreover, have a moving bottom, that involves a sudden and daily morphological change of the conformation of the seabed – states Gianpaolo Bottacin, Councilor for the Environment and Civil Protection of the Veneto Region – The first step to make the community aware of the dangers of rivers and, therefore, why bathing is forbidden, it is to act on a cultural level: it is necessary to know the danger in order to try not to expose oneself to the danger itself. Road awareness campaigns also prove this: although the subject of accidents is still very sensitive, over time data tells us that fatal accidents have halved compared to a few decades ago: This means that providing information can lead to significant results and prevent citizens from being exposed to risk”.
In addition to the communication campaign that will start shortly, legal studies are underway to clarify the procedures that municipalities can follow in formulating prohibitions and related sanctions.
