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Archaeological evidence proves that Venice is sinking at a rate of around 10 cms per 100 years, but in the last century, it lost an extra 10-13 cms due to industry pumping water out of the deep aquifers. Although this process was stopped in the 1970s, the damage was done, and in many parts of the city, the water at high tide is above the stone foundations of the buildings and laps against the porous brickwork, causing it to crumble away. It is estimated that by the year 2050, the historic portion of Venice will be permanently lost under the Adriatic Sea. A proposal by Padua University to raise Venice 30cm by pumping water back into the soil is now under planning. The idea is to pump water down 700 meters, using 12 bore holes around a circumference of 10 km. Giuseppe
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Photo Credits:
Small_canal_-_Venice.jpg A small canal in Venice, by Jerome Herr.
Photo: Navigation markers in the Venetian Lagoon.
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