Investments are growing (+70% in 10 years) with positive projections also for this year, although they are still far from the European average. Improves quality of service, which shows a reduction in network losses from 44% to 41%. The effects of climate change are beginning to be felt significantly: in the last thirty years the availability of natural renewable water resources, a good proxy for the water available to hydroelectric plants, has dropped by an average of 20%. These are, in a nutshell, the main findings of the Blue Book 2023 promoted by Utilitalia, edited by the Utilitatis Foundation and in collaboration with The European House-Ambrosetti, Istat, Ispra, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the Department of Civil Protection and the Authorities of Basin. The substantial study, in fact a complete monograph of data from the Integrated Water Service, was released on the eve of World Water Day and the resulting water crisis – according to the authors – requires the creation of modern infrastructures to ensure the protection of the resource . In this regard, Utilitalia, the Federation of Italian public service companies underlines the willingness of companies in the water sector to invest 10 billion euros in the coming years, of which 5 billion by 2024.
Investments are growing, but Europe is far away
Therefore, investments are growing. And this is already good news. With the launch of the Arera regulation in 2012, after years of instability, they have recorded a constant increase: for 2021, a per capita value of 56 euros is estimated, a figure up by 17% compared to 2019 (49 euros per inhabitant) and by about 70% compared to 2012 (33 euros per inhabitant). An estimated 63 euros per inhabitant for the two-year period 2022-2023: therefore, a confirmation of the positive trend. Growing numbers, but still far from the European average relating to the data available for the last five years, which is equal to 82 euros per inhabitant. However, there are still large differences between the different areas of the country. The estimate of the investments made by industrial managers in 2021 for Central Italy is equal to 75 euros per year per inhabitant, followed by the North-East (56 euros) and the North-West (53 euros). The estimate for the South is decidedly lower, equal to 32 euros per year per inhabitant. The data relating to “in economy” management is still very low, where the local authorities deal directly with the water service: here the average annual investments amount to 8 euros. Of the 1,519 Municipalities in which the management of at least one of the services is “in economy”, 79% is located in the South for a population concerned of approximately 7.7 million people.
The quality of the service and the North-South gap
The litmus test of the increase in investments is the improvement in the quality of the water service in recent years, as demonstrated by the data on network losses (from around 44% in 2016 to 41% in 2021) or on the frequency of spills/flooding in sewerage (from 12 events per year every 100 km of network in 2016 to 5 in 2021). Here too, however, the gap between North and South catches the eye: an example is the number of service interruptions, which in the South is two orders of magnitude higher than in the North, or network losses, which in the regions of South stood at about 47% versus 31% in the Northwest. “Solving the problems that afflict the water service in various areas of the South – points out Stefano Pareglio, president of the Utilitatis Foundation – is an issue that can no longer be postponed. We need to work to raise the level of investments and to reduce the infrastructural gap, acting quickly on governance by encouraging the participation of industrial operators”.
The impact of climate change
Last but not least, the issue of climate change which evidently has an impact on the water crisis and aggravates its consequences. 2022 was the hottest and least rainy year in Italian history, with temperatures reaching +2.7 degrees compared to the 1981-2010 average and significant rainfall anomalies especially in the central-northern regions. These variations are inserted in the context of the effects of climate change in progress: in the last 70 years, in Italy, a statistically significant increase has been observed in the areas affected by extreme drought and, in the last 9 years, the temperature in the main Italian cities has increased by 1.3 degrees. Weather-climatic variations that have a significant influence on the hydrological cycle: the estimate of average water availability for the last thirty years (about 133 billion cubic metres) shows a reduction of 20% compared to the period 1921-1950 (166 billion). This without taking into account the last two years, which have shown a further and significant drop in the water resources available for hydroelectric production, considered one of the “renewable” pillars for the production of electricity in Italy, even more so in a delicate period such as the current one, in which the diversification and security of supply sources are required. In this regard, according to Terna’s preliminary data, in the first two months of the year the generation of electricity from water recorded a dramatic -51.1%. The month of February saw a decline close to 60%. If we continue at this rate, at the end of the year, compared to 2022, something like 8,214 GWh will be missing, slightly less than the electricity that Sardinia consumes in a year.
Utilitalia’s eight proposals for the sector
The results of the Blue Book confirm the eight concrete proposals launched in recent days by Utilitalia to encourage the infrastructural adaptation of water networks to climate change. Short-term ones (within 3 months) include: promoting efficient reuse, countering the salt wedge, diversifying the procurement strategy and supporting the presence of industrial management; among the medium-term ones (within 6 months) the strengthening of the governance of the river basin districts and simplification for the implementation of investments, while among the long-term ones (over 6 months) the promotion of the efficient use of water and the implementation of strategic infrastructure works. “The effects of climate change on the availability of water resources – observed the president of Utilitalia, Filippo Brandolini – are increasingly evident and give rise to events that can no longer be considered exceptional. We need to address them with interventions that promote the resilience of networks and aqueduct systems within a global approach that considers all the different uses of water in our country, guaranteeing priority for civil use. At the same time, the Blue Book data clearly shows the need for urgent interventions on the governance front, without which it will be impossible to bring the level of investments close to the European average and bridge the water service divide between the various Italian areas”.