Rio Calamasciu: €1.71 million confirmed in the 2027 budget for the first lot

The Municipality of Sassari has included €1.71 million in the 2027 budget for the first lot of works on the Rio Calamasciu, in Predda Niedda. The announcement came on Tuesday, October 20, during the City Council’s review of the budget amendment, while new flooding was reported in the industrial area.

The amount entered in the budget relates to a project whose detailed design for the first lot is estimated at €1.9 million. The Mascia administration approved it on September 28, following a proposal by Councillor for Territorial Protection Pierluigi Salis. The measure includes a declaration of public utility, a necessary step to acquire the areas affected by the works.

The lot is the first part of an overall project costing around €6.9 million, designed to improve water drainage between Predda Niedda Sud and Caniga. The project provides for a new open-air channel along the southern side of the railway, giving the water an alternative route. The covered section of the stream will remain in operation and collect rainwater from the industrial area before connecting further downstream to the new channel.

The aim is to increase drainage capacity during the heaviest storms and reduce the risk to roads, parking areas and businesses. One place where the problems are particularly evident is the car park between Eurospin and Maury’s, which was once again flooded on October 20. Episodes of flooding in Sardinia have also affected other parts of the island.

The project addresses an area transformed over time by industrial expansion: until the 1960s, the Calamasciu flowed through olive groves; warehouses, roads and paved surfaces later altered the landscape. The watercourse was covered and channelled underground, while the soil’s reduced permeability increased the volume of water that must be drained when it rains.

The administrative process dates back to an agreement signed in December 2010 by the ministry, the Region and the Municipality, and has continued through planning and authorisation stages, including the archaeological restrictions applying to the area. The services conference concluded positively on May 18, paving the way for approval of the detailed design. Following funding and approval of the lot, the process must proceed through expropriation procedures and the steps required to award the works contract.