Rainwater Harvesting Staves off Sinking in Venice

Artists are answering local farmers' demand for freshwater in Italy's Venice Lagoon—and keeping the lagoon from sinking in the process. 
 

Marjetica Potr? and Marguerite Kahrl have developed a solar-powered system that harvests rain water from roofs of greenhouses for agricultural use. The Venice Lagoon is in dire need of an alternative water supply sources, since, as in city of Venice, the groundwater farmers draw from aquifers for irrigation has exacerbated the sinking process. 
 

Read more about the artists' plan to repurpose rainwater at Treehugger. 

Photo courtesy of Richard Saxton via Abitare