Diffuse contamination assessment for the groundwater quality protection in Functional Urban Areas (FUA)

The Lombard territory (Italy), characterized by a historical process of industrialization, is affected by significant contamination both of the ground and of the groundwater. The continuous development of urban areas needs to face the problem linked to the growing presence of portions of the territory where there is the presence of contaminated groundwater (mainly chlorinated solvents and hydrocarbons), for which it is no longer possible to identify the position of the sources of the contamination. This type of contamination is defined as diffuse contamination due to multiple point sources and represents a common environmental problem in many developed countries.This contamination often is among the elements that causes the non-achievement of the qualitative objectives defined by the European Groundwater Directive. Furthermore, diffuse pollution causes a significant economic impact on society, due to the costs necessary for its management and remediation. Lombardy Region, which is one of the most urbanized and industrialized areas in Europe, has recently developed specific legislation action to address the problem, which includes a regional remediation program and a regional management plan for diffuse groundwater pollution. Thanks to the presence of efficient monitoring networks and a huge qualitative and quantitative data concerning the groundwater of Lombardy, it was possible to start a process of assessment of the diffuse pollution in the Wide Area, consisting of the city of Milan and a sector of its hinterland located in the North-East. This made it possible to define a new Reference Threshold for Diffuse Contamination (RTDC) and a Management Plan containing the management methods and measures for the prevention of diffuse pollution. Lombardy Region (2017) has delimited the first area affected by diffuse pollution and approved the intervention measures and the regulation for the reclamation procedures falling within this area. Following this first action on the management of diffuse contamination, the Lombardy Region and the Politecnico di Milano have started the AMIIGA project (Integrated Approach to Management of Groundwater quality in functional Urban Areas) project (CE32-Interreg 2016-2019) in which, it will be developed a new Management Plan for the North-West area of Milan. The Pilot Area will include 9 municipalities in the Milan surrounding and 2 in the Varese province. This article intends to present both the European and Italian regulatory framework and the regional Management Plan of the Functional Urban Area (FUA) of Milan, presenting the methodology adopted and the results obtained.