| Italy: Water and sanitation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Data | |||
| Access to piped water supply | |||
| Coverage with sewers | 85% | ||
| Collected wastewater treated | About 65% | ||
| Continuity of supply (%) | 15% suffer service interruptions (2004) | ||
| Average urban water use (liter/capita/day) | 214 (2022), according to ISTAT[1] | ||
| Average urban domestic water and sewer bill | €478/month (2023)[2] | ||
| Non-revenue water | 38%[3] | ||
| Annual investment in water supply and sanitation | 600m Euros/year (ca. 2000), or 11 Euros/capita/year | ||
| Investment financing | Self-financing by utilities and government subsidies | ||
| Institutions | |||
| Responsibility for policy setting | Ministry of Environment (Ministero dell'Ambiente) | ||
| Water and sanitation regulators | Regulatory Authority for Electricity Gas and Water (L'Autorità per l'energia elettrica il gas e il sistema idrico), 20 regional governments and 120 provincial governments | ||
| Sector laws | Galli Law (L.36/94) | ||
| Number of service providers | 3,351 (2009), including 91 integrated regional utilities serving the majority of citizens as well as numerous smaller municipal utilities and municipalities | ||
Water supply and sanitation in Italy is characterized by mostly good services at prices that are lower than in other European countries with similar income levels. For example, the average monthly residential water and sewer bill in Italy is 20 Euro compared to 31 Euro in France. According to the OECD, water in Italy has been underpriced for a long time.[4] With about 240 liter per day, per capita water use for residential uses in Italy is higher than in Spain or in France, where it is about 160 liter per day.[3] Water resources in Italy are distributed unevenly, with more abundant resources in the North and scarcer resources in the South. Most water withdrawals are for agriculture and industry, with only 18 percent of water withdrawals made for drinking water supply. About one third of the water withdrawn for municipal supply is not billed to the customers because of leakage, malfunctioning water meters and water theft.[3]
The relatively low water tariffs had been made possible by government subsidies for investments. However, because of high debt levels the government has been unable to sustain these subsidies, and investments thus have declined to a level that may make it hard to sustain service quality with an ageing infrastructure. It also makes it hard to improve service quality where necessary, such as in parts of Southern Italy where water supply is intermittent, or in areas where drinking water is naturally contaminated, such as in parts of Latium. The Italian government has embarked on a bold reform process of the Italian water sector by passing the Galli Law in 1993. The law aimed at consolidating municipal service providers into regional utilities, separating service provision from regulation, achieving cost recovery from tariffs, and improving efficiency. More than twenty years after the passing of the Galli Law, regional utilities have been created and regulation is in the hands of regional governments that are separate from the utilities. However, investment levels and efficiency still remain low, putting service quality at risk.
- ^ "Le statistiche dell'Istat sull'acqua – Anni 2020-2023 – Istat" (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-08-21.
- ^ Cittadinanzattiva (19 March 2024). "Rapporto Acqua 2024". Blue Communities.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
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