The Sarno river is in the Campania region of Italy (of which Naples is the capital city). It rises from the slopes of Mt. Sarno near the town that also bears that name. On its way to empty into the gulf of Naples near the Rovigliano Rock, between Castellamare di Stabia and Torre Annunziata, the river passes through the Campanian provinces of Salerno, Avellino and Naples. The Sarno is 24 km long, and the Sarno basin (that is,the area drained by the river and its tributaries) covers 500 sq. km, an area confined by the Picenti mountain range, the Salerno range, the Lattari range, and the Somma- Vesuvius volcano. That area is densely populated, containing 750,000 inhabitants.

The Sarno is the most polluted river in Italy. A toilet. The situation is aggravated by large-scale dumping of untreated agricultural and industrial waste into the river. Additionally, the area is also tormented by frequent flooding and mudslides; in the last 20 years, the banks have ruptured two or three times a year, causing spill-over of polluted waters into the adjacent countryside with all the risk to public health that that entails. The manmade drainage canals and sewers along the length of the river, meant to handle run-off from rainwater by channeling it into the river, are also frequently clogged with debris and even cemented over in some places, thus increasing the flood risk even more.

Pollution levels "evolve" along the length of the Sarno. At the source, near Mt. Sarno itself, the river is still in a rather natural state (though "pristine" in an area of 750,000 people is perhaps stretching the description a bit). Flowers grows on the banks and fish swim in the waters. As it is channeled through the town of Sarno, itself, at the foot of the Picenti range, it is still a pleasant little stream (photo). A few kilometers farther along, however, at the confluence with the Cavajola river (flowing from its source near Cava dei Tirreni) and the Solofana river (from the mountains in the province of Avellino), the pollution picks up and is visible. There are dumps along the banks. By the time you get to Scafati, there is chemical foam in the water.

So, is there any good news? Maybe. The plan is to clean up the entire the length of the river plus the tributaries for a grand total of 170 km of waterway. The result would be a Sarno Park and would fit into the entire environmental campaign to protect the area, which, for example, now also includes the Vesuvius National Park right next door. Dredging has already begun to clear away an estimated 1,200,000 cubic meters of refuse from the water. (Imagine a cube 12 x 12 x 12 football fields. Now, fill it with refuse. Now, empty it.) Part of the plan involves incentives for the 500 small factories along the Sarno to stop dumping. ("Please stop dumping" signs are probably not going to do the trick.)The happy-happy politicos predict a two-year project, after which time we will be able to frolic in the pure waters of the sea near the mouth of the river. They must be kidding, but any start is welcome.

Jeff Matthews