La tutela delle acque in Italia. Il percorso travagliato della «legge Merli» (1955-79)

The intense development process that swept through Italy in the post-World War II period dramatically worsened the level of water contamination. From the mid-1950s, in the most damaged contexts, the issue began to attract increasing attention from both the technical- scientific community and political institutions. The refinement of investigative methods and the experimentation of technical solutions were accompanied by the drafting of legislative proposals for the protection of water bodies. On this latter front, a political dialectic unfolded, reflecting the contemporary debate on the redefinition of the structure of the State triggered by the establishment of the ordinary statute Regions.