Torre Annunziata, November 2018. Overhead view of the mouth of the Sarno River. All chemical and solid waste from the river then flows into the sea, making nearly 10km of coastline between the Gulf of Naples and the Amalfi Coast unfit for swimming Italia
Nocera Inferiore, September 2021. Gaetano, president of the association Controcorrente, talks about the condition of the river on his balcony at home, which stands on the most polluted spot on its route.
Sarno, September 2021. An illegal spill by a farm in the area. These farms, sometimes due to lack of infrastructure, sometimes to save on disposal costs, dump agricultural waste such as soil, pesticides and fertilizers, directly into the river.
Pompei, June 2023. A fresco representing the Sarno River in the form of divinity. In the past, the river was considered on a par with a god, being an element that enabled the development of the inland areas of Naples by allowing commercial exchange with cities near the coast
Sarno, September 2021. An illegal spill near the Sarno station. This is among the first discharges on the river's route, which has its source only a few meters upstream.
Nocera Inferiore, April 2019. Some members of Countercurrent during one of their weekly meetings.
Solofra, April 2019. Solofra sewage treatment plant. Inside the sewage treatment plant, chemicals necessary for the treatment of hides and skins are released by the hundreds of tanneries in the town. Among these chemicals, the most visible is hexavalent chromium, which when poured in large quantities dyes the water a bright red color.Often to save on disposal costs, industrial effluents are fed directly into the river water.
San Valentino Torio, June 2023. A man calls me from the street to show me the damage water has caused to his house. Because of chemical waste cementing and lack of maintenance, the riverbed has risen several meters. This factor causes the river to overflow during rainy periods causing flooding in the surrounding urban areas.
Scafati, June 2023. View of a ridge pool filled with vegetation. Scafati was once known as "Little Venice" because of the many man-made canals that allowed the river to pass through the middle of the city without overflowing. Due to poor maintenance and solid waste thrown into these canals, over the years they have filled with vegetation no longer allowing water to drain away during floods and making the city difficult to live in during the summer months because of the smell coming from the canals.
Nocera Inferiore, September 2021. The tattoo of Giuseppe, an environmental activist with the Controcorrente Association, quotes a Bible verse.
Sarno, Settembre 2021. Uno sversamento illegale da parte di un azienda agricola della zona. Queste aziende, a volte per mancanza di infrastrutture, altre per risparmiare sui costi di smaltimento, scaricano i rifiuti agricoli come terra, pesticidi e fertilizzanti, direttamente nel fiume.
Nocera Inferiore, Aprile 2019. Domenico distribuisce volantini alle macchine di passaggio durante una protesta popolare organizzata da Controcorrente per la lotta al disinquinamento del fiume Sarno.
Scafati, November 2018. Heap of agricultural waste inside the San Tommaso canal. Often in addition to this waste, pesticides and fertilizers used by farms in the area are also released into the river.
Sarno, June 2023. Some GORI operators are taking samples to measure the level of water pollution in the river. This activity is part, with others, of the "Energies for the Sarno" project aimed at cleaning up the river through the construction of sewage networks, which have been absent so far in most of the towns along the river, and the closure of private and non-private illegal discharges.
Sarno, June 2023. A GORI researcher works on the waters of the river with the Daphna Magna. This activity is part, with others, of the "Energies for the Sarno" project aimed at cleaning up the river through the construction of sewage networks, which have been absent so far in most of the towns along the river, and the closure of private and non-private illegal discharges.
Sarno, June 2023. A slide containing the Daphna Magna. It is a micro organism that under particular conditions hatches releasing a small crustacean that is used as a bioindicator to assess water toxicity.
Scafati, November 2018. Bed of a compensation channel. These canals were originally used to secure the city in case of flooding of the river, but due to the elevation of its bed by more than three meters due to the chemicals cemented on its bed since the 1970s, they are now filled with solid waste and vegetation.
Nocera Inferiore, September 2021. Nicola and Maximilian chat on the balcony of their home. They both live in the same apartment building on the most polluted spot on the river's route.
Scafati, November 2018. View of a house that stands on one of the canals that run through the city. During winter rains, these canals often overflow and carry solid waste and chemicals from upstream tributaries.
Scafati, November 2018. Luigi poses for a portrait in his garden. He has lived his entire life near the San Tommaso canal, seeing several floods pollute his vegetables, as well as smelling the stench of carcinogens. He has lost his brother and other friends living in the neighborhood due to respiratory desases.
Nocera Inferiore, September 2021. View of the city's monastery
Nocera Inferiore, Settembre 2021. I membri di Controcorrente discutono durante una delle riunioni settimanali dell'associazione.
Sarno River watershed, April 2019. A large drain fed exclusively by wastewater from the Solofra industrial area. Since it is not fed by the river this drain should be almost dry and have only purified water, while, especially during winter rains, it is perpetually active.
Scafati, November 2018. View of civil sewage treatment plant. This sewage treatment plant operates at only a quarter of its capacity, due to the lack of infrastructure that should connect it to the sewage systems of neighboring cities.
Nocera Inferiore, Aprile 2019. Alcuni ragazzi dell'associazione appendono degli striscioni in tutta la città per la manifestazione del giorno dopo.
Nocera Inferiore, April 2019. One of many civil discharges poured directly into the river. Due to the lack of infrastructure, all civil discharges from about half of the municipalities in the Sarno River basin are poured directly into the river.
Nocera Inferiore, September 2021. Nicola, an environmental activist with the Controcorrente Association, poses for a portrait on the terrace of the apartment building where he lives. It stands in the Arenula neighborhood, where the most dangerous and polluted stretch of the river is located.
Castellammare di Stabia, November 2018. An old chest of drawers on the beach. All the chemical and solid waste from the river spills into the sea and is then sent back to the beaches by the current, making nearly 10km of coastline between the Gulf of Naples and the Amalfi Coast unfit for swimming.
Torre Annunziata, November 2018. Davide, president of an association aimed at cleaning beaches of trash sent back by the Gulf Stream, poses for a portrait in front of Rovigliano Beach, near Naples. All the chemical and solid waste from the river spills into the sea and is then sent back to the beaches by the current, making nearly 10km of coastline between the Gulf of Naples and the Amalfi Coast unfit for swimming.
Torre Annunziata, November 2018. View of Vesuvius with from the beach. All the chemical and solid waste from the river spills into the sea and is then sent back to the beaches by the current, making nearly 10km of coastline between the Gulf of Naples and the Amalfi Coast unfit for swimming.
