Not only the Netherlands. The territory of Bologna is also grappling with a worrying phenomenon: subsidence, or the progressive sinking of the soil. Raising the alarm were Giovanni Martinelli, a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, and geologist Andrea Dadomo, who spoke at a conference organized by Confindustria Emilia-Romagna entitled “Towards the new Water Protection Plan through a new management model”. According to the experts, the ground in some areas of the Bologna area is sinking at a rate of more than 2 centimeters per year, with peaks that, in recent decades, have led to ground subsidence of up to 3 meters. Weighing on the phenomenon are not only natural causes, but also - and more importantly - the impact of human activities. Among the main factors is the intensive extraction of water from the subsoil: the withdrawal from the clay layers, scholars explain, irreversibly compromises their structure, promoting soil subsidence and increasing the risk of flooding. Although the use of groundwater today is reduced compared to the past, the issue remains central, as pointed out by Irene Priolo, Regional Councillor for the Environment. The critical nature of the Emilia-Romagna water system is reflected in the increasingly marked alternation between long periods of drought and extreme weather events. Among the solutions proposed by experts, the issue of large reservoirs for the collection and management of water resources is back on the agenda. To date, notes La Repubblica paper, only two dams have been built in Emilia-Romagna: those of Ridracoli and Conca, both constructed since the 1970s.