TECHNITAL S.P.A.

Consulting Engineering
––––––––––
SECTORS:

AIRPORTS
BUILDINGS AND ARCHITECTURE
COASTAL ENGINEERING
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
MARINE WORKS
PORTS
RAILWAYS
ROADS AND MOTORWAYS
––––––––––
Offices in Italy:
VERONA MILAN PATTI VENICE
––––––––––
Branch Offices:
DJIBOUTI INDIA POLAND QATAR ROMANIA TRINIDAD&TOBAGO URUGUAY
––––––––––
Project Offices:
ALBANIA BOLIVIA NICARAGUA UGANDA

Site:
Venice, Italy

Photo:
Aerial view of Malamocco inlet

Project:
MO.S.E.
www.technital.it
Internal Navigation,
port and marine
works
A group of multi-disciplinary professionals from various
sectors of Technital (hydraulic, structural and transport
engineers), has acquired a very specialized experience in the design and supervision of internal navigation, port and marine
works, carrying out both studies and projects in these sectors. The activities have been carried out with particular attention
to local regulations and master plans for development and in strict collaboration with the competent authorities to define the
best design solutions. The design choices have also been based on the results of traffic modelling studies and mathematical
and real-time navigation simulators.
The main studies and projects performed are: Improvement of the banks of the Veneto Littoral waterway system and the
recovery of the existing locks (Venice, Italy), Flood protection works for Chioggia insula and rehabilitation of the internal canal
system (Venice, Italy), Mobile barriers at the mouths of the internal canals of the island of Burano in Venice lagoon (Italy),
Mobile barriers at the mouths of the internal canals of the island of Alberoni in Venice lagoon (Italy), Mobile barrier on the Vena
canal in Chioggia (the so-called “little MO.S.E.” project) (Venice, Italy), Study of the vessel traffic inside Venice lagoon (Italy),
Navigation locks for access to Venice lagoon and to the industrial port of Porto Marghera in the context of the MO.S.E. project
(flood protection works at the lagoon inlets of Lido Treporti, Malamocco, Chioggia), Upgrading to European class V of the
Ferrarese waterway in the section between Final di Rero and Migliarino (Ferrara, Italy).
The Ferrarese waterway represents a major link between the Po river, the largest river in Italy, and the Adriatic Sea. The stretch
of river near the Po delta is not navigable and therefore the Ferrarese waterway to the south, like the Bianco-Fissero-Tartaro
canal, provides an outlet to the sea for the Po valley navigation system.
Technital carried out the preliminary and detailed designs of the works along the Ferrarese waterway, including the
environmental impact study, and was also charged with the supervision of the construction works. The main works envisaged
in the project are: the improvement of the Valpagliaro navigation lock (see figure); the re-profiling of the cross-section of the
existing waterway to guarantee a rectangle for navigation with a width of 24 m; the construction of a new section of waterway
at the Final di Rero curve with a cross-section suitable for the transit of two barges (42 m); the construction of 3 new road
bridges and related road links, and a wooden bridge for pedestrians and cyclists; landscaping works for the new island
created between the old and new alignments of the waterway; the construction of a slipway for boats in the existing stretch of
waterway at the curve of Final di Rero.
Hydraulic
modelling
The study and design of hydraulic works by Technital is
usually accompanied by mathematical and/or physical
model studies (in the latter case carried out by laboratories of international fame, but coordinated and supervised by qualified
Technital personnel), so as to identify the optimal design scenario, and the one with the least impact on the surrounding
environment. The models used by Technital’s Hydraulic Division are true hydraulic models (2-D models for river systems,
models for water supply and sewerage networks, models for groundwater analysis). When required, experts from other
divisions of Technital are drawn into the design activity for applications with management and simulation models regarding
water quality, ecology, air quality, noise pollution, and morphology. All the models used are commercial models appropriately
calibrated on the basis of the available local data.
The models used to study fluvial systems are 2-D and 3-D hydraulic models capable of simulating the propagation of the peak
flow wave, the phenomenon of overtopping of the banks, the flooding of the areas adjacent to the river, the collapse of the
banks, and the interaction of the structures along its course with the propagation of the current (intake structures, bottom sills,
flow constrictions, bridges and piers in the riverbed).
The model used for studying the permanent and temporary flows of groundwater is a 3-D finite elements model capable of
simulating scenarios which take into account the processes of the infiltration of rainwater and of evaporation-transpiration.
This model has been applied to study the dynamics of the water tables in the area of Porto Marghera (Venice, Italy) with the
aim of providing a numerical instrument capable of reconstructing the flow field of the groundwater, on the basis of punctual
data regarding level and pressure obtained from the piezometers installed in the area (see figure). This model, calibrated and
validated on the basis of the available data, has permitted the evaluation of the effects of various shore protection works
constructed for the purpose of making safe the area of Porto Marghera.
The model permitted the reconstruction and simulation of the underground water flows in a vast area facing one of the most
important lagoon environments in the world (Venice lagoon). Thanks to the modelling of the hydraulic phenomena in an
environment heavily influenced by human activities and featuring major hydraulic works for water regulation and exploitation
(dewatering systems, deep wells, drainage systems, hydraulic reclamation works, decontamination works), it has been
possible to attain a new understanding of the dynamics of the water tables in Porto Marghera, which overturned the old
erroneous conceptions, and to draw up a plan for a more efficient and efficacious way of making the site hydraulically safe.
River hydraulics
Technital has over 40 years’ experience in the field of river hydraulic design. The design activity has concerned river basin
management plans for large catchment areas, works to improve the mouths of some of the main Italian rivers, expansion basins
and flood attenuation works, hydraulic improvement works on watercourses in relation to the construction of crossing structures
for major roads and railways.
The analysis and the choice of the design solutions has been carried out paying particular attention to environmental issues
and, where possible, using naturalistic engineering techniques to ensure the full harmonisation of the work with the surrounding
landscape.
The design activity carried out by Technital is always supported by analyses using the most avant-garde hydraulic mathematical
models available on the market (Mike 11, Hec-Ras, RS Info works) and, where necessary, physical models built in internationally
renowned hydraulic laboratories. Furthermore, the design choices have always been made taking into due account existing
plans and regulations and in agreement with clients, so that the design documents produced are already acceptable and likely
to be approved.
Some of the main projects carried out in the past 15 years are: the expansion basin along the Timonchio river (Vicenza, Italy),
the flood attenuation works on the Olona river (Milan, Italy), hydraulic works on watercourses interfering with the Milan–Bologna
section of the High Speed railway line (Italy), river training works and hydraulic works to resolve the problems of watercourses
affected by the new external eastern bypass of Milan (Italy), the Mestre bypass on the A4 motorway (Venice, Italy), the
Pedemontana Lombarda highway (Italy), the Brescia-Bergamo-Milan motorway (Italy), weirs on the Bisagno river and on the
Fereggiano, Rovare and Noce streams (Genoa, Italy), expansion basins on the Tagliamento river (Pordenone, Italy), works for the
extension of the catchment basin of Lake Trasimeno (Perugia, Italy).
In particular, the design of the diversion weir on the Bisagno river concerned a barrage and intake work some 180 m long, a
diversion tunnel for the peak flow of approximately 6650 m, 3 minor intake works, 2 service tunnels, one upstream near the
intake works on the Bisagno river and the other downstream obtained by improving and lengthening the diversion tunnel of the
Fereggiano stream built in the early nineties. The hydraulic behaviour of the main works was verified by means of physical model
tests (see figure).
WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANTS
During the past 10 years Technital’s involvement in the design
of wastewater treatment plants both in Italy and abroad has
grown considerably. Technital has formed a multidisciplinary
technical group (hydraulic engineers, processing engineers,
structural engineers, electro-technical and mechanical
engineers, as well as biologists, chemists, geotechnical
experts and legal experts) who collaborate to analyse all the issues and problems connected with the realisation of treatment
plants (depuration and potabilization).
Wastewater treatment plants require a multidisciplinary approach due to the number of different components concerned:
hydraulic works, structural and geotechnical works, electromechanical, electrical and remote-control systems, chemical
reactions and biological processes, environmental impact mitigation measures to limit atmospheric and acoustic emissions.
The projects carried out by Technital regard a number of different types of plants: activated sludge, MBR, MBBR, chemical-
physical and phyto-depuration plants, depending on the specific needs of the clients and of the locations. It is Technital’s policy
to reach an agreement on the design solution in the early design stages, by presenting the client with a comparison between
construction and management costs, the construction times and, more generally, the relative advantages and disadvantages of
each alternative compared to the others.
The main projects carried out in recent years are: new wastewater treatment plant in Porchiano-Todi and Castiglione del Lago
(Perugia, Italy), rainwater treatment plant in the Arsenale (Venice, Italy), civil wastewater treatment plant in the port of Naples
(Italy), numerous rainwater treatment plants built along the major roads and motorways designed by Technital (Messina-Palermo
motorway, Pedemontana Lombarda highway , Valtrompia motorway, Mestre bypass, Rho-Pero road system, Nuova Paullese
state highway, external eastern bypass of Milan, etc.…), water treatment plants of the islands of Lazzaretto Vecchio (activated
sludge plant) and Lazzaretto Nuovo (phyto-depuration plant) in the Venice lagoon, the civil wastewater treatment plant in San
Erasmo (Venice, Italy), optimization and upgrading of the wastewater treatment plant in S. Giovanni Lupatoto (Verona, Italy) from
24,000 to 50,000 inhabitants.
The project in San Giovanni Lupatoto (see figure) regarded the extension of the existing treatment plant requiring specific works
for each area of intervention, involving both the water and the lines. In particular, the project envisaged the realisation of a new
primary treatment section with the installation of new machinery for both the large and fine grid screening, the execution of
maintenance works on the existing grit removal basins, and the construction of a denitrification tank, a new nitrification tank
and a new secondary sedimentation tank. The project also envisaged microfiltration by disc filter, and ultraviolet disinfection. In
relation to the sludge line, a new dynamic thickener and a new aerobic digestion chamber were planned.
LAND RECLAMATION,
IRRIGATION, PUMPING
SYSTEMS AND
HYDROELECTRIC
PLANTS
Technital has worked and is currently working on a number
of projects involving land reclamation and irrigation with
pumping systems, as well as hydroelectric power plants,
both in Italy and abroad. The design was developed with
particular attention to the local water system and to the
surrounding environment, and with a careful analysis of the most appropriate solutions for each specific situation. Every new
project includes the continuous update and review of the electromechanical equipment available on the market. This approach
is crucial given the continuous evolution of this field, with the constant aim of bringing to the market new machinery with lower
energy consumption.
Technital has acquired a particular experience concerning the analysis and the study of the varied motion phenomena
connected with the performance of hydraulic machinery. Thanks also to studies carried out using the most modern
mathematical models. The company’s technical staff has developed specific experience in relation to protection through the
use of surge tanks, anti-waterhammer valves and piezometric wells.
Some of the main projects carried out in the past 15 years are: the extension of the operative dumpsite at Torretta di Legnago
(Italy), the revamping and restoration of the pumping system for emptying “medium” and “large” dry dock of the Arsenale
di Venezia (Italy), with pumping systems with a total power of over 1 MW, the irrigation system with waters deriving from
the treatment of wastewaters for 8 neighbourhoods in Doha City (Qatar); a new cooling water system and seawater intake
for the East Naples power station (Italy), the hydroelectric power plant of Pont Ventoux in Val Susa (Turin, Italy), the largest
hydroelectric power plant ever designed in Italy, operational since 2006, a dewatering system to accelerate the consolidation
and settlement of the artificial embankment to provide prefabrication area for the gates elements at Malamocco inlet in Venice
lagoon (Italy).
This last project was carried out in the context of the activities for the realisation of the mobile surge barriers at the three inlets
of the Venice lagoon (MO.S.E. system). In the southern part of the Malamocco port inlet, an embankment area was created to
provide a site for the prefabrication of the gates elements. In order to favour the stabilization and consolidation process of the
embankment which is made of loose materials subject to compaction and consolidation phenomena, a dewatering system
was designed to drain the water present in the material composing the embankment. The dewatering system consists of a
network of 22 wells defined on the basis of the stratigraphic information obtained from continuous boreholes and from the
hydraulic tests (Lefranc test in the borehole and pumping tests), and from the results of a three-dimensional finite elements
groundwater model.
WATER SUPPLY AND
SEWERAGE SYSTEMS
Technital has some 40 years’ experience in the design and
construction supervision of water supply and sewerage
systems in Italy and abroad. The development of projects in
this particular field of Civil Engineering includes, in addition
to the hydraulic and structural scaling of the works, the
meticulous search of the materials and electromechanical
equipment that best satisfy the requirements of the
individual project and the requests of the client.
The design solutions are based on an analysis not only of the construction costs, but also of the plant management costs, a
crucial factor in such works.
Some of the main projects relating to the water supply and sewerage system works developed in the past 15 years include:
the civil aqueduct of San Erasmo (Venice, Italy), restructuring the Gela-Aragona aqueduct (South-East Sicily, Italy), the
upgrading and optimisation of the sewerage network in the district of Valpantena (Verona), the design of the rainwater and
wastewater sewerage network for 8 neighbourhoods in the city of Doha (Qatar); the reconstruction of the sewerage system in
the port of Naples (Italy), which included a negative pressure sewerage system with corresponding vacuum pumping station,
the redevelopment of the wastewater collection system of Lake Garda basin in the Malcesine-Torri del Benaco area (Verona,
Italy), new sewerage systems in the municipalities of Sorgà and Erbè (Verona, Italy), the new stormwater drainage network in
the municipality of Conversano (Bari, Italy).
Specifically, the redevelopment project for the management of the wastewater collection in the Lake Garda basin was
conceived because of the need to resolve the serious infiltration problem in the mixed sewer main that gathers sewage from
all the municipalities of the lake basin. This sewer main shows considerable infiltration from the lake’s parasitic waters, which
endangers the performance of the main itself and of the treatment plant in Peschiera, to which massive quantities of water
are conveyed from all over the area. The project envisages the realisation of a new ductile cast iron collector approximately
39 Km long, working partly by gravity and partly under pressure, which conveys wastewater and wastewater diluted up to a
factor of 5. Furthermore, the project also envisages the realisation of emergency spillways for the secondary branches and of
new pumping stations for the main collector. The main collector will be devoted to the collection of rainwater and mixed water
spilling from the secondary branches and which will be treated in purpose-built rainwater tanks.
The designs (final and detailed) of the restructuring of the Gela-Aragona aqueduct (see figure), which serves most of Southern
Sicily and the town of Agrigento, is one of the main water supply works realised in Italy in recent years. Its length (over 100 Km
of piping) and the capacity of the tanks (over 40.000 m³), in addition to the total value of works (over 70 million euro), make
this a remarkably important project.