Engineers Explore Raising Venice.
At November, 21 a group of engineers and geology experts are considering injecting seawater under Venice to raise the waterlogged Italian city by one foot to rescue it from the tides and floods that bedevil it. The head of the project Giuseppe Gambolati said, that would enable Venice to regain nearly the same height it lost in the last 300 years. An engineer and professor at the University of Padua – Gambolati – said: the $117 million project entails digging 12 holes with a diameter of one foot within a six-mile area around the city, and pumping seawater into the ground at a depth of 2,298 feet. The seawater is expected to expand the sand that lies underneath, which combined with a topping of waterproof clay would eventually push up the soil, Gambolati said. The project is still in its initial phase and it will have to be discussed and evaluated by various cities, regional and state commissions before being approved.