Venice is under threat of a major flood – not if, but when. So it’s time to get on with building gates to help control water. The controversial flood control plan has been in the works for decades. “The barriers are to be completed by 2012 at a cost of 2.5 billion euros. A prototype section of the barriers was successfully tested as long ago as the 1980s, but their execution has been delayed by objections from the Green Party, which believes, among other things, that they would cause the lagoon to become dangerously polluted if closed frequently.”