Edit project overview: Case study:Rio Mareta restoration at Stanghe (Sterzing-Vipiteno)

Please enter a description of the project: The Mareta River drains a catchement area of 212 Km and flows into the Isarco River, near Sterzing (Vipiteno). In the last 150 years, the river was object of various intervention; the two major consist of a flow regulation in 1876 and a large aggregates extraction, to provide material for the construction of the Brennero motorway, in the early 70’s. These activities caused a significant incision and narrowing of the riverbed (from the large original braided river bed – up to 300 m width – to a channel 30-40 m wide). The areas of natural retention, such as flood plains and riparian areas, have almost completely disappeared, making floods more intense in the Vipiteno basin. Using public lands has been possible to enlarge the riverbed up to twice the width set in the 70’s, along a stretch of 2 km, The material of the excavations has been deposited in the river bed, taking care to reproduce forms as natural as possible. To restore the longitudinal continuity, 16 dams has been demolished, with benefits to the ecosystem and fish populations for the morphological evolution of the stream itself, which is to be returned as a dynamic system . To ensure flood safety the new bed was consolidated by bank protections, covered with loose material and harmonized with the surrounding landscape.

Monitoring surveys and results:

Lessons learnt: