Fish Are Happy as Venice’s Dirty Canals Clear up (Because People Stay at Home)

While Italy faces a lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people are starting to notice an environmental silver lining to the social distancing: Venice’s heavily polluted canals are looking a whole lot cleaner and clearer.

Venice’s waterways act as the city’s sewage system, but members of the Facebook Group Venezia Pulita, which aims to promote sustainability and clean water in Venice, have been sharing photos of the canals looking crystal clear since the lockdown started on March 9. And Venetians can even see fish swarming in them!

“The water now looks clearer because there is less traffic on the canals, allowing the sediment to stay at the bottom,” says a spokesman for the Venice mayor’s office to CNN. “It’s because there is less boat traffic that usually brings sediment to the top of the water’s surface.”

An additional positive side effect in the city is the decrease in air pollution. Venizia Pulita’s group members hope people notice these positive changes and share a new sense of responsibility and respect for nature once the lockdown days pass.