Exploitation of aggregates in the river po basin,near Turin,Italy, and its impact on the environment

The study carried out jointly by the Politecnico di Torino and the Ufficio Cave of Regione Piemonte examined the most troublesome interferences between quarry exploitation and other land uses alongside the river Po, south of Turin. Here a great number of large alluvial aggregate quarries, whose excavations extend below the water table, have long been active. Detailed geological and topographical investigations have been carried out, together with geophysical prospecting work (by electrical methods) and hydraulic tests on wells. The results of the investigations have permitted the setting up for the quarries involved of rational guidelines for the protection of the groundwater resources and of soil stability. The necessity of systematic preliminary studies, according to the law presently in force, is stressed for new quarries to be opened. Investigations should also involve an adequate number of exploration drillings and water pressure measurements, to determine the amount and the quality of the alluvial deposits as well as the hydraulic characteristics of the aquifers and the geotechnical properties of the ground where the excavation work has to be made. A rational program of land recovery, and an exploitation plan respecting other land uses, can be set only in the light of the aforesaid studies.