EN 
it
Almost seven million residents in Italy (6.6 million, or 11.2% of the total population) are currently excluded from the public sewerage service. The data, presented by ISTAT at Accadueo — the international exhibition that for over thirty years has been devoted exclusively to the civil and industrial water supply chain and which, on its opening day, nearly doubled attendance compared to the 2023 edition — also show that 41 municipalities, including 26 in Sicily alone, are completely without a sewerage system. This absence affects around 397,000 inhabitants, equivalent to the population of a city like Bologna.
“The lack of a public sewerage service,” explained Simona Ramberti from the Department for Economic, Environmental and National Accounts Statistics at ISTAT, speaking from the conference halls of Accadueo, “poses potential environmental and health risks due to the uncontrolled discharge of urban wastewater. In areas without a public system, private treatment facilities — borne by individual citizens — are generally in use.”
In Italy, 88.8% of the resident population is connected to the public sewerage system and lives in municipalities with full or partial network coverage. This positions Italy ninth among the 27 EU countries. The most critical situation is in the islands: in the province of Catania, only 36% of the population is connected to the network, and more generally, in Sicily, the figure stands at 76.5%, more than twelve percentage points below the national average. In contrast, North-Western regions reach 94.6% coverage, with Valle d’Aosta leading at 98%.
“Water represents 20% of Italy’s GDP,” said Paolo Angelini, CEO of BolognaFiere Water&Energy, “and now more than ever, it is essential to have a platform where operators, utilities, policymakers, and companies can join forces to design ideas and projects for the future of the sector. This is the foundation of Accadueo, and the success of the 2025 edition—with visitor numbers nearly doubling on the first day—is proof that the water sector is united in facing the challenges of climate change and new European regulations, turning the best Italian innovations into concrete solutions to improve sustainability and the management of water for the future.”
Accadueo 2025 is supported by Philip Morris Italia, with Pam Saint-Gobain as Gold Sponsor, and Gruppo CAP and Stantec as Silver Sponsors. All information is available on the Accadueo website: https://www.accadueo.com/en/The-Event/The-event#manifestazione
----
BFWE is a joint venture founded in 2021 by BolognaFiere and Mirumir with the aim of developing a business project that contributes to the knowledge and sharing of issues related to the economic and social value of water and related new technological applications (https://www.bfwe.it). BFWE manages Accadueo, an event that has been the benchmark for the water sector at national and international level for over 30 years (https://www.accadueo.com). It takes place in Bari in even-numbered years and in Bologna in odd-numbered years.
----
For further information, please contact the administrative office Mirumir: info@mirumir.it / www.bfwe.it
Accompanying images: https://www.bfwe.it/mirumir/download/downloader.php?id=652
Accadueo Press Office
Lead Communication
Anita Lissona - 335 498993 - anita.lissona@leadcom.it
Lorenzo Mazzoni – 349.8450008 – lorenzo.mazzoni@leadcom.it
Chiara Venuleo - 340 7773887 - chiara.venuleo@leadcom.it
