Aqueduct losses at 41.2%, higher investment spending

As regards one of the main indicators of technical quality, that of “Water losses”, in 2019 (last survey of infrastructures) there was a value of linear water losses (calculated by comparing the total losses to the length of the network, indicator M1a) on average equal at 22 cubic meters / km / day, as well as an average value of the percentage water losses (indicator M1b, calculated by comparing the total losses to the total volume entering the aqueduct system) equal to 41.2% (from over 43% in 2018) . This is what emerges from the Annual Report of Arera, the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment, with 2020 data for electricity, gas, water, waste. There are lower loss values ​​in the North and higher average values ​​in the Center and South and Islands, where just under half of the water resource fed into the aqueduct systems is dispersed. The existence, in the country, of a water service divide is still confirmed, with values ​​of the technical parameters that generally tend to represent situations of greater criticality in the South and Islands area. The analysis of the investment needs (gross of contributions) for the period 2020-2023 at the national level confirms the concentration of the efforts of the managers to contain the level of water losses, which therefore is a priority objective in the planning choices of government bodies Overall, the resources allocated to interventions for the improvement of losses constitute about 21% of the total needs of the sample for the four-year period 2020-2023. Investments for the improvement of the quality of purified water and for the adaptation of the sewage system follow (in particular with a view to minimizing flooding and sewer spills), which amounted to 16.6% and 15% respectively, while the incidence of the weight of interventions aimed at reducing water interruptions is growing, reaching 14.5% of total needs.