The Economist

Why Venetians are pondering raising their entire city

After a €5.5bn flood barrier called Mose was built to protect Venice and its lagoon, some Venetians are proposing to pump seawater underground and raise the land to extend its useful lifespan due to climate change and rising sea levels.

After two decades under construction, a €5.5bn flood barrier called Mose now protects Venice and its lagoon.
Mose is made up of 78 hinged steel floodgates that run for 1.6km along the sea floor beneath the three inlets to the Venetian lagoon.
The flood-defence scheme was designed to serve for a century, but Hermes Redi, the director-general of the Venetian engineering consortium that built it, fears its useful lifespan might be just half as long.
Rising sea levels will make the downsides of Mose more apparent as the barrier is raised more and more frequently.
To extend the system's life, some propose to pump seawater underground and raise the land, which could be achieved for 2% of Mose's €5.5bn construction cost.

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