Italy water industry - statistics & facts
Water is a critical resource for human survival and all economic activities of a society. In Europe, Italy is the country with the largest amount of water withdrawals and drinkable water consumed per capita. One might imagine people in Italy taking endless showers and boiling liters of water for their daily pasta dish, but it is actually irrigation, farming, and industrial processes which account for over 70 percent of the water withdrawals in Italy. On the other hand, Italian consumers do not have full use of the eight billion cubic meters of water that is put into the public distribution network each year since an astonishing 40 percent of it is lost to leakage due to aging infrastructure. Italy’s recovery and resilience plan (PNRR) allocated a part of its funds for the renovation of the national water supply system, although works should not start before 2024.
However, chemicals in pesticides, fertilizers, and livestock organic waste expose groundwater to the risk of contamination. In the last few years, analysis of water samples found high concentrations of nitrate and chloroform of anthropic origin in the aquifers of most of the Italian regions, and, according to a 2022 investigation, over 1,500 water extraction sites in Italy present toxic levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).
Additionally, scarce precipitation is already impacting the renewable energy mix in the country: in 2022, Italy’s hydroelectric energy production dropped by almost 40 percent in comparison to the previous year.
Water supply in Italy
The Italian peninsula extends for over 1,000 kilometers in the Mediterranean Sea, and it is surrounded by its waters on three sides. One of the main water courses in Europe, the Po River, crosses the north of the country from west to east, and hundreds of lakes are scattered throughout Italy’s territory. Nevertheless, while desalinated water makes up only a marginal percentage of the freshwater supply in the country, 85 percent of the public drinking water extracted in Italy is from underground reservoirs.However, chemicals in pesticides, fertilizers, and livestock organic waste expose groundwater to the risk of contamination. In the last few years, analysis of water samples found high concentrations of nitrate and chloroform of anthropic origin in the aquifers of most of the Italian regions, and, according to a 2022 investigation, over 1,500 water extraction sites in Italy present toxic levels of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).
Water crisis in Italy
As global warming and extreme weather events are posing a threat to water supply and security, Italy is on the verge of a water crisis. In recent years, the volume of annual rainfall has shown a decreasing trend in the north of the country. Therefore, Italy’s river runoff and groundwater recharge are shrinking because of reduced winter snowfall over mountain glaciers, a crucial source of freshwater. At the same time, intense rainfall events are triggering episodes of landslides and floods on grounds made impermeable by drought, threatening the water infrastructure and the quality of surface and underground waters. Water contamination and scarcity of water courses and groundwater are causing a water shortage emergency in the country. Water rationing for households, agriculture, and industrial consumption is getting increasingly necessary in some areas of Italy.Additionally, scarce precipitation is already impacting the renewable energy mix in the country: in 2022, Italy’s hydroelectric energy production dropped by almost 40 percent in comparison to the previous year.
