Italy: Water Waste
Italy wastes enough water for 43 million people per year — can it fix its leaking pipes?
A large part of Italy's water supply network is more than 30 years old.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, Italy wastes enough water in a year to meet the needs of 43 million people.
Due to aging infrastructure, 42 percent of drinking water was lost last year — a new record. Around a quarter of the country's networks are over 50 years old, and 60 percent have been in operation for more than 30 years.
For a country plagued by a prolonged drought, that is a large amount of water being lost, writes Euronews.
Could Italians be wasting water without knowing it?
The price of drinking water in Italy is among the lowest in Europe: one cubic metre costs €2 — half as much as in France — and supply had not been an issue in the past. In recent years, however, Italians have been confronted with water restrictions, and many have made efforts to conserve the scarce resource.
“When I brush my teeth, I turn off the water. I pay attention to other small details, I prefer the shower over the bathtub,” says one Italian citizen.
Yet despite efforts to save water, people may be consuming far more than they think. On average, Europeans use 125 litres of water per day. Thanks to leaking pipes, Italians consume 236 litres.
And it is not only the leaks that are a problem. On 1 June, the EU announced that it has decided to sue Italy for failing to properly treat its municipal wastewater.
Can Italy solve its water waste problem?
The biggest problems exist in the south, but water is a nationwide issue. In the north, companies in the Friuli region have joined forces to invest in the water network.
Smart meters are being installed to prevent water wastage, and the water supply is being digitalized to predict where problems might occur.
«All seven companies in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region responsible for the distribution and supply of water have joined forces», explains Salvatore Benigno, President of the CAFC Water Company.
«We have received PNRR funds – i.e. European funding – to make the water network more efficient. The goal is to reduce network losses by around 13 percent within a few years, as the entire project must be completed by 2026.»
In total, Italy wants to spend 4 billion euros from European funds on the construction of 25’000 km of water supply networks to address its water scarcity problems. More on this topic Environment and Nature Conservation and Climate Change.
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