Menechini 0204 translated - lessons learnt by a water

The management of the 2012 flood in the Umbria Region: lessons learnt by a Water

Romano MenechiniManager of the Water plants and network of the Valle Umbra Servizi (VUS)

Idea Project WorkshopOxford 5-6 April 2016

Valle Umbra Servizi company

• The Valle Umbra Servizi core-business is:

• Management of integrated water services (collection, abstraction and distribution of drinking water for civil use, sewerage and wastewater treatment)

•management of methane distribution services in the municipalities of: Foligno, Spoleto, Campello, Trevi, Bevagna, Montefalco, Spello e Castel Ritaldi;

• management of urban waste services (collection, transport and disposal of waste , sweeping) for 21 municipalities

Valle Umbra Servizi

• Valle Umbra Servizi (VUS) is a public capital-based society, whose member are the 22 municipalities located in the district of Foligno, Spoleto and Valnerina for a total of 150.000 inhabitants.

Autumn 2012 flood eventsOctober/ November 2012 Flood event has involved mainly the territory of:

- Spello- Spoleto - Gualdo Cattaneo where the most important damages to water plants and networks so as to sewerage networks have been recorded.- minor problems have

been verified also in other managed municipalities.

Damages caused by the flood• Damages to the water

network• Involvement of shallow wells

used for drinking water integration with related contamination of the water distributed (bacteriological pollution)

• Subsidence of land with a ruptured water distribution pipelines.

Damages caused by the flood• Damages to the water network

• Landslide in Montemartano, an area prone to hydrogeological risk, with progressive damage to the drinking water source.

Damages caused by the flood• Damages to sewers

• collapse and related blockage of sewers and inspection wells.

• Blockage of grids of sewerage spillways discharging waste materials in the receiving channels

• Treatment plant • 3 sewage treatment plants were

flooded.

Damages caused by the flood• Damage to methane networks

and plants

There were not registered any damage to natural gas networks and plants.The failure of these networks presents a serious risk to safety of persons and properties and the service repairing costs are very high.

Damages caused by the flood• Also indirect damages to the Company have to be

recorded like:

1 - claims for damages by individuals2 – damages to company’s image3 - legal proceedings related to environmental issues4 - Increase in energy costs and for the use of reagents or polymers in water treatment.

• For the water supply network• An ordinance was issued to communicate to 10,000 residents within

the area of Spoletino that water was undrinkable and1 – water tanks service was activated2 – operations of extraordinary cleaning of affected structures 3 – Extraordinary campaign of networking and analytical controls 4 – Info communication in collaboration with Information Press Office of the Municipality and civil protection:

• leafleting and alerts with cars equipped with speaker in the affected areas • Press releases• constant information through social media and websites• public meeting with citizens, ARPA, USL and Municipal administration

• Provisional restoring intervention to reactive damaged aqueduct and later on installment of the new water distribution conduit.

Taken actions

• For the water supply network

• Total makeover of the control room of the Montemartano source with waterproofing of the entire structure

Taken actions

• for sewers• extraordinary cleaning of pipelines , inspection rooms,

spillways and treatment plant pumping stations .• Rebuilding sections of the sewage system damaged by the

flood event.

• for treatment plants• dismantlement of two sewage treatment plants with new

construction of pumping stations and rebuilding sections of sewer

• reparation of the access road to a sewage treatment plant and remake of all the electric panels with replacement of pumps.

Taken actions

Damage costsActivities Costs NotesEmergency management for no-drinkable water ordinance:- Water tanks (2 days)- Operations- Information to community - Bacteriological and chemical controls

€ 5.000€ 25.000€ 7.000€ 16.000

(In addition to the civil defense volunteers)

New acqueduct sections € 14.000

Rebuilding of Montemartano spring € 50.000extraordinary cleaning of pipes and inspection chambers and restoration of sewage system

€ 10.000

For purification : rebuilding of the drainage system for waste diversion

€ 85.000

Access road and electric panels € 7.000

Total € 219.000 Excluding internal and energy costs

Insurance• The Valle Umbra Services S.p.A. has an

insurance policy that covers Corporate personnel activities (legal protection) and the risks linked to the normal management of networks and systems.

• The policy mainly covers damages caused to third parties from our operations or plants. We also have an insurance policy against fire and theft but with no coverage due to inclement weather or natural disaster events.

• This type of coverage would result in unjustifiable costs for the Company

Lessons LearntLessons learnt Corrective/preventive actions

Need for continuous monitoring of residual chlorine in the network

Upgrading of the automatic control systems of the residual chlorine in the network

Lessons LearntGreater control of external sources during events

Monitoring system of water turbidity and eventual closure of parts of the distribution system

Difficulties in managing emergencies without action and coordinationprotocols

Preparing security plans of individual aqueducts for the emergency management in collaboration with the involved institutions (Municipality, Civile Protection, USL, ARPA and Region)


Environmental risks due to sewage network blockages or to increase of the flow towards treatment plants

continuous monitoring of spillways ; control programs of networks and systems;Strengthening and increase of the overflow of sewerage systems


- Need for timely reporting of damages and utility of a system shared with the agencies involved in emergency management.- The availability of such a system would reduce the response time, the costs and above all the hardships on the people.

- Preparation in the Corporate management system of specific items of expense and work orders for the reporting of the interventions coded as an emergency.- Approval of contingency plans based on various hypothetic scenarios.