In Italy, even in this summer of 2026, seas and lakes are increasingly suffering and vulnerable. Confirmation comes from the final report of Goletta Verde and Goletta dei Laghi 2026, the two summer campaigns by Legambiente that annually monitor seas and lake basins. Out of 391 samples taken by Legambiente volunteers from marine and lake waters in 19 regions, as many as 34% exceeded legal pollution limits, meaning more than 1 sample out of 3. Unfortunately, this general figure is in line with last year’s and shows no improvement. A negative trend is also seen in lakes, where the 34% recorded in 2026 is the worst in the last 7 years (from 2020 to 2026). The health status of the sea and lake basins is primarily affected by inadequate wastewater treatment, a widespread problem in the country which, according to MASE data requested by Legambiente in July 2026 through civic access, still counts 514 urban agglomerations, corresponding to over 14 million population equivalents, discharging non-compliantly, and the climate crisis which is making the Mediterranean increasingly warm while lakes are drying up.
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The data
The detailed data from the two Goletta campaigns 2026 speak clearly: again this year, river mouths, canals, and streams flowing into the sea or lake remain critical points: out of 188 sampled mouths, more than half, 54%, were found polluted or heavily polluted. Among the chronic and “shameful” points are the mouth of the Musone River, on the Adriatic coast of Marche, which has been heavily polluted for the last 6 years, with the only exception in 2024; and that of Aci Trezza, in Sicily in the province of Catania, which has exceeded limits since 2020. Among the lake basins, the banner “What a Shame” was displayed on Lake Sabaudia, in the province of Latina, with 3 out of 3 samples found “heavily polluted.” Even in areas far from mouths or discharges, water quality is not the best: 15% of samples taken directly from the sea or lake waters exceeded legal limits, with 5% polluted and 10% heavily polluted. Also concerning is the absence of informational signs at river mouths: in 70% of the mouths monitored during the Goletta Verde campaign alone, no signs prohibiting bathing were found.
Climate crisis and waste
Alongside pollution and inadequate wastewater treatment, the climate crisis exacerbates on one hand the tropicalization of the Mediterranean, the arrival of alien species, and coastal erosion, and on the other hand causes lakes to dry up. According to Legambiente data, in the last six years from 2020 to 2025, the average surface temperature of the Mediterranean Sea from May to September each year has never dropped below 24°C. Inland, among the lakes most suffering due to prolonged drought and high temperatures are Lake Iseo, which lost more than 79% of its stored volume in just 42 days, from June 12 to July 24, and Lakes Maggiore and Como, which lost 76%. Another serious threat is the abandonment of waste in the sea, a scourge that spares not even the seabed. For example, in Polignano a Mare, at the end of July, Goletta Verde together with local divers and its historic campaign “Clean Up the World” recovered about 30 abandoned tires from the sandy seabed.
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Wastewater treatment, PNACC and offshore wind
The health status of our sea and lakes is a litmus test for Italy’s major unresolved issues, such as inadequate wastewater treatment which we have been denouncing for 40 years with Goletta Verde and for over 20 years with Goletta dei Laghi. The snapshot taken by the Goletta reports confirms, in summary, the urgency to act on root causes, starting with wastewater treatment, also addressing Italy’s delays. On the Peninsula, Legambiente highlights, there are four ongoing infringement procedures for non-compliance with the European Urban Wastewater Directive (91/271): so far, the first two have cost over 200 million euros. Moreover, with the new Wastewater Directive (2024/3019), the country’s plants will have to adapt to new requirements, a cost estimated between 645 million and 1.5 billion euros just for the largest plants.
Treatment plants
For this reason, Legambiente considers it urgent to start improving the efficiency of urban wastewater treatment plants by allocating more resources, working on the connection of untreated discharges, and combating illegal discharges into surface waters. These proposals are being relaunched today by the environmental association, along with a national plan for wastewater treatment, also calling for a review of the bathing water directive with attention to monitoring points, together with strengthening information and awareness campaigns. Not forgetting that combating the climate crisis also involves the sea and lakes through more mitigation and adaptation measures, starting precisely with allocating the necessary financial resources to implement the National Climate Change Plan (PNACC), defining a national plan for the specific adaptation of coasts to the climate crisis, and creating new protected marine and terrestrial areas.
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