10:00 - 10:30

| Room Acqua

QUALI-QUANTITATIVE MEASURES IN SEWERAGE NETWORKS (aimed at risk management)

10:30 - 12:30

| Room Oceano

Water in production activities: towards a sustainable use

At a crucial time for the country's ecological transition, the effects of climate change and increasing pressure on water resources make efficient, resilient, and sustainable water management increasingly urgent and a priority. In this context, the conference aims to provide an opportunity for in-depth analysis and discussion between institutions, the research community, and stakeholders on the role of water resources in production processes.

The use of water in the industrial and agricultural sectors is indeed a strategic component for economic and social development, but it still remains difficult to quantify and monitor homogeneously at both local and national levels. The availability of reliable data, advanced analysis tools and effective governance models therefore constitutes a central challenge for guiding adaptation and sustainability policies. The event therefore aims to promote a qualified dialogue between scientific research, statistical analysis, and territorial governance, leveraging the joint contributions of research institutions, national institutions, and those responsible for resource and land management.

10:30 - 11:00

| Room Goccia

The efficiency of the sewage treatment plant begins with the network - Predictive control of flows, process and energy towards energy neutrality

New European directives and the increasing variability of operating conditions require rethinking the management of the sewerage system, sewage treatment plant, and energy resources as parts of a single system. The stability of the process, the quality of the effluent and the consumption depend in fact not only on the internal regulations of the plant, but also on the trend of the flow rates and incoming loads, on the storage capacity of the network and on the coordination between energy requirements and production.

The case of Trier shows how sensors, forecasting models, and decision support systems can translate this approach into coordinated management. The storage capacity available in the network is exploited to regulate the inflow to the sewage treatment plant and attenuate hydraulic and load variations. At the same time, the biological process parameters are adjusted to the measured and predicted conditions, while estimating energy consumption and production allows the plant's operation to be harmonized with the availability of energy from renewable sources, including biogas and photovoltaics.

From this perspective, the sewage treatment plant is no longer just an energy consumer, but becomes an active part of an integrated system, capable of balancing consumption and production, containing power peaks and reducing the use of the external electricity grid. The Trier experience therefore offers a concrete example of how coordinated network, process and energy management can improve service efficiency and resilience, contributing to the path towards energy neutrality indicated by the new European Urban Waste Water Directive.

11:00 - 13:00

| Room Acqua

Sewers and urban drainage: resilience and climate adaptation

Urban sewerage and drainage systems are now facing increasing pressures due to soil sealing and the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. 
The conference proposes a reflection on the most effective strategies to improve the management of existing networks and increase their resilience. Urban drainage will be analyzed not only as a technical infrastructure, but as an essential component of climate adaptation policies. Alongside traditional solutions, sustainable strategies such as nature-based solutions will be considered. The aim is to highlight how integrating traditional sewerage networks, green-blue solutions, and digital innovation can help reduce flooding and environmental impacts, also in light of the new EU Directive 2024/3019.
The meeting aims to provide an updated picture of the challenges and opportunities for the urban drainage sector, from a perspective oriented towards hydraulically safer, more sustainable and resilient cities.

11:30 - 13:30

| Room Goccia

Waiting for Dronitaly 2027 - Digitalization of the water sector: satellite data and drones for water and land management

Digital transformation is changing the way we monitor and manage water resources, providing increasingly effective tools for inspecting infrastructure and facilities and monitoring land. By integrating drones, GIS, and IoT sensors, it is now possible to collect data quickly, securely, and to meet specific needs, improving local knowledge and supporting more timely and sustainable decisions.

The conference will explore the main applications of UAV systems applied to the control of water networks, reservoirs, and natural water bodies, demonstrating how these technologies can also support land monitoring, hydrogeological risk prevention, and the protection of water resources.

By presenting case studies and testimonials from institutions, water service managers, universities, and businesses, the event will provide an overview of the latest applications of UAV technologies, fostering a comparison between research and application, highlighting the opportunities offered by digitalization for increasingly efficient, resilient, and future-ready water management.

The special event is leading up to Dronitaly 2027, scheduled from 7 to 9 April in Bologna.

14:00 - 15:30

| Room Oceano

Micropollutants and energy efficiency: the New Drinking Water Directive and the technological solutions of the industry for the Utilities

The conference analyses in detail the crucial challenges introduced by the New Drinking Water Directive, focusing on the removal of emerging micropollutants (such as PFAS and microplastics) and the simultaneous safeguarding of the energy efficiency of drinking water plants.
The meeting proposes a synergistic formula divided into two macro-sections.
The first part will explore national and European regulatory frameworks, real-world risk management case studies, and the latest enabling technologies, including advanced membrane systems, oxidation processes, and smart digitization solutions for plant control. The second part will be entirely devoted to a round table and open debate with the public; a dynamic and pragmatic discussion aimed at balancing operational cost optimization, tariff constraints, and environmental sustainability.
An important appointment for utility managers, technicians and designers in the water sector.

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TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE, ENROLMENT IS REQUIRED AT THE LINK BELOW

To access the fairgrounds and to get a free admission ticket for Accadueo 2026, online registration as a Visitor is required.

14:00 - 15:00

| Room Acqua

ArcGIS Utility Network: Fundamentals for Water Networks

Do you manage a water network? Come and follow this session that offers an overview of the features, typical of a Water Management system, that enable next-generation analysis and experiences for any water manager.

Discover practical strategies and tools for migrating to ArcGIS Utility Networks, learn about Esri Migration Toolsets and Utility Network Migration Wizards, explore different implementation options from rapid transitions to the most advanced and fully configurable data models…just some of the expected topics that will allow you to find answers to complex and specific questions for proper water and/or sewer management.

Updates on what's new in ArcGIS Enterprise to better configure web, desktop, and mobile platforms, demonstrations and illustrations of how ArcGIS systems can be used to modernize network editing operations, perform tracking analytics to manage outages, and schedule automations complete the session schedule.

At the end, you will gain in-depth insight into the scalable, geolocation-based workflows needed by all water managers and more generally for other, asset-intensive areas operating under complex conditions that ensure maximum continuity of service.

Particular attention will be given to examining the right balance between cost, configuration commitment, and scalability to help those working with water network operators plan successful migrations.

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TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP, ENROLMENT IS REQUIRED AT THE LINK BELOW

To access the fairgrounds and to get a free admission ticket for Accadueo 2026, online registration as a Visitor is required.

14:00 - 14:30

| Room Goccia

IBB16®: Relining no dig of pressurized pipelines – The Catanzaro project

The presentation will focus on one of the projects of IBG Hydro Tech GmbH in Catanzaro. It will be about the trenchless drinking water system, IBB16, and how the project was carried out.

14:30 - 15:00

| Room Goccia

How WorkOnSite AI Is Optimizing Operations in Acqualatina

Maintenance and investment activities are still among the least digitized in utility processes today: monitoring and data management flows collected in the area often remain tied to traditional tools and practices, resulting in information loss, delays, and difficulties in monitoring progress in real time.

Bludigit presents the evolution of the WorkOnSite (WoS) platform, the solution that allows you to collect, validate, and share information from the field in a structured way. WoS unlocks total visibility into ongoing activities and automates quality checks, ensuring compliance in the construction of the works and real-time visibility of what has been done in the field. Thanks to WoSeye-WorkOnSite's AI trained on over 90,000 construction sites and already monitoring more than 100 tasks in parallel every day-verifications are automated, increasing quality and reducing operational workload. The numbers show that the water efficiency game is no longer played on the choice of simple software, but on the ability to manage operational complexity precisely thanks to intelligent agentic assistants.

To understand the true value of this technology, however, we must look at the experience of those who use it every day: for this reason, the intervention will enter the heart of the Acqualatina case, which has already made the tool an integral part of its business processes, with daily use in field activities. Through firsthand testimony from those who manage their daily operations in the area, we will discover how the platform is already optimizing repair supervision and lace monitoring, generating tangible and measurable efficiency benefits every day.

15:30 - 17:30

| Room Acqua

The valorization of brines: from an environmental problem to a determining factor for the sustainability and competitiveness of desalination

Proper management of brines has always posed the greatest challenge to the adoption of desalination plants in our country. Water scarcity and the international geo-economic context have finally accelerated the development of technologies and systems for the extraction of minerals contained in brines, in order to use them in various industrial sectors.
Solving the environmental problem has therefore resulted in the production of by-products, compared to the importance of desalted water for potability and civil use purposes, but of significant economic and financial value, such as to rebalance traditional management models of desalination.
Overcoming the emergency mentality also means focusing on circularity and competitiveness models that foster not only production processes but also the diversification and completion of the ecosystem of businesses, laboratories, technologies, and services present in the regions.

15:30 - 17:30

| Room Goccia

INVESTMENT, INNOVATION AND TRENCHLESS TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF THE INTEGRATED WATER SERVICE

15:45 - 17:30

| Room Oceano

Wastewater Directive EU2024/3019 - Removal of micropollutants: technological, regulatory and industrial challenges

The conference is entirely dedicated to the analysis of the new EU2024/3019 Wastewater Directive, focusing on the removal of emerging micropollutants through a synergistic approach between institutions, the research world, and the industrial sector.
During the work, the strategic and regulatory challenges related to the national transposition of European legislation will be explored in depth, with a particular focus on the application of the new principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to finance and cover the costs of advanced treatments.
Ample space will be reserved for the technical-operational dimension: in fact, the first results of the SAFF40 experiment conducted by Acqua Novara VCO will be previewed and real cases of industrial application of cutting-edge technologies, such as ozonation, activated carbons and membrane systems on pilot plants, will be examined.
The event will conclude with an interactive roundtable discussion and a Q&A session aimed at fostering networking, in which the CNR will also participate to analyze regulatory gaps and define realistic timelines and strategic priorities for investment at the national level.

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TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE, ENROLMENT IS REQUIRED AT THE LINK BELOW

To access the fairgrounds and obtain a free admission ticket for Accadueo 2026, online registration as a Visitor is required.

09:30 - 13:30

| Room Acqua

UNI technical standards for low-environmental-impact underground infrastructure construction technologies

UNI and IATT Impresa Sociale ETS are organizing the final event in a cycle of five conferences to present the following recently published technical standards:

• UNI 11990-1 “Low-environmental-impact underground infrastructure construction technology – Part 1: Systems for locating and mapping underground infrastructure”
• UNI 11990-2 “Low-environmental-impact underground infrastructure construction technology – Part 2: Pipe jacking installation using horizontal boring”
• UNI 11990-3 “Low-environmental-impact underground infrastructure construction technology – Part 3: Guided drilling systems: Horizontal Directional Drilling”.

The standards are the result of the work carried out by WG 04 “Trenchless technologies” within the UNI/CT 058 Technical Committee «Sustainable cities, communities and infrastructure».

With the publication of the new UNI 11990 standards, Italy now has an official, clear and shared technical framework, which is essential for the development of underground utility infrastructure:

• supporting the design of sustainable interventions;
• increasing the quality and reliability of works;
• simplifying relations between operators, contracting authorities and public administrations;
• promoting innovation and the adoption of no dig technologies in the national market.

10:00 - 11:00

| Room Oceano

The evolution of water meters

ACISM, the Association of Italian manufacturers of measuring instruments  federated to ANIMA Confindustria, will present a panel dedicated to the new Technical Specification UNI/TS 12007:2026, which defines the architectures, functional requirements, and interoperability criteria for remote reading and remote management systems for drinking water meters.

For over thirty years, ACISM has been the national reference in the field of legal measures, following the technological evolution of water meters and contributing to their regulation through ongoing dialogue with institutions, public bodies, and technical bodies. The Association carries out concrete proposals and works with ministerial technical staff to ensure reliable, safe measuring instruments that are consistent with the needs of end-users.

The new Technical Specification UNI/TS 12007:2026 represents a decisive step in this direction: it introduces a smart water meter model that is more interoperable between devices from different manufacturers, more secure from a cybersecurity perspective (in accordance with EU Regulation 2024/2847) and fully integrated with the tariff criteria and technical quality standards required by the regulation.

The TS defines in particular:
• the architecture of the system for the remote management of measurement groups;
• the services and functionality that the system must make available, distinguishing between mandatory and optional requirements;
• the minimum services necessary to ensure the provision of services;
• the performance and construction requirements of the devices involved;
• the data model for transmission, a key element for interoperability.
Specific attention is also paid to sustainability and environmental monitoring: TS enables continuous and timely consumption control, timely leak detection, waste reduction, and smarter water resource management, with concrete benefits for users, managers, and the environment.

The panel will offer a comprehensive overview of the evolution of water meters and the opportunities opened up by the new Technical Specification, highlighting the contribution of the Italian measurement industry to the modernization and digitalization of water service.

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TO PARTICIPATE IN THE CONFERENCE, ENROLMENT IS REQUIRED AT THE LINK BELOW

To access the fairgrounds and obtain a free admission ticket for Accadueo 2026, online registration as a Visitor is required.

10:15 - 10:45

| Room Goccia

Thermal Destruction of PFAS During Full-Scale Reactivation of PFAS-Laden Granular Activated Carbon

Thermal reactivation of PFAS-loaded GAC in a full-scale multihearth furnace achieved >99.99% PFAS destruction. Analytical results confirmed complete PFAS removal from the carbon, fluoride formation during treatment, and very low atmospheric emissions, demonstrating thermal reactivation as a robust PFAS destruction technology.

11:00 - 13:00

| Room Goccia

How to manage a Water Safety Plan: from regulations to operational practice

The introduction of Water Safety Plans (WSPs) represents a key step in the evolution of the Integrated Water Service, shifting the focus from a reactive approach to a preventive model based on risk analysis across the entire drinking water supply chain.
The conference aims to provide a training opportunity for utilities, technicians and quality managers to clarify:

• what a Water Safety Plan is and what objectives it pursues;
• the provisions of the relevant Italian legislation, with particular attention to ISTISAN Report 25/4;
• the 10 steps required by the legislation and how they should be structured and documented;
• the obligations imposed on utilities in terms of responsibility, updating, communication and digital submission of WSPs.

Within this framework, a digital tool will be presented that can support the 10 steps required by the legislation and interface with the Italian National Institute of Health, facilitating information traceability, risk matrix management, production of the required documentation and digital submission to the relevant institutions.

The event will provide an opportunity for discussion, encouraging dialogue among utilities, consultants and institutions. The meeting will take an operational approach: in addition to the regulatory overview, practical experiences will be shared by water utilities that have already implemented digital tools for WSP management, highlighting critical issues, organizational solutions and best practices.
The objective of the meeting is to provide participants with a clear and operational view of the regulatory compliance process, offering interpretative and methodological tools for effective and sustainable management of the Water Safety Plan.

11:15 - 13:15

| Room Oceano

The urban wastewater cycle: critical issues and perspectives in Southern Italy

The workshop aims to take stock of the main critical issues and development prospects of urban wastewater management in the Southern regions, also in light of the transposition of the new Directive (EU) 2024/3019 on urban wastewater.
Through a direct comparison between research bodies, national institutions, oversight bodies and water service managers, the meeting will offer an integrated framework ranging from mapping and monitoring of sewerage and purification infrastructure to environmental impacts on receiving water bodies.  

14:00 - 14:30

| Room Goccia

REFINEMENT OF SECONDARY WASTE FOR ITS REUSE IN INDUSTRY AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO DRINKING WATER – A TRUE CASE

The refinement of secondary wastewater through NUF technology allows the treated wastewater to be fed directly onto reverse osmosis plants, allowing the use of Osmosis permeate in various industrial applications – from cooling towers to UPW plants. The wastewater treated in this way is therefore transformed into a real alternative to the use of drinking water, creating a circular economy ecosystem.

14:15 - 14:45

| Room Oceano

From network knowledge to operational management: data, models, and intelligence to reduce losses and improve water service

Integrated Water Service managers operate across extensive, heterogeneous infrastructures, often characterized by different levels of knowledge, monitoring, and digitalization. GIS, remote control, smart meters, sensors, hydraulic models, maintenance systems, and technical archives offer valuable, but frequently separate, non-homogeneous, or difficult-to-reduce information to a common representation of the network.

In the aqueduct sector, this fragmentation limits the ability to correlate pressures, flows, consumption, losses, failures and interventions. In wastewater, the challenge is even more complex: it is necessary to understand mainly gravity networks, lifting stations, pressurized pipelines, spillways, sewer districts and terminal systems, relating levels, pump states, flow rates, weather events, anomalies and environmental risks.

The intervention illustrates an integrated digital approach to the water cycle, based on a common model of assets and their relationships, capable of linking geographical and topological knowledge, operational data, measurement quality, indicators, and intervention processes.

Syntphony Water Management, NTT DATA's platform designed to enhance existing systems and progressively build a shared level of operational intelligence, extends the experience gained in water distribution to the new monitoring and management needs of the wastewater and fits into this scenario.

14:30 - 16:30

| Room Acqua

High frequency monitoring of pressures. A tool to prevent breakdowns in distribution networks

In the management of contemporary urban districts, comparable about the materials used and the pressure regime, significant differences often emerge in relation to the frequency of ruptures. Attention is therefore paid, first, to evaluating the effects of the maneuvers performed by the operator to ensure an adequate level of operation. In many cases, however, since such manoeuvres are carried out safely and take place with very low frequency, the cause of the breaks cannot be attributed to them. The analysis of some case studies has instead indicated in the behavior of some users the generation of very frequent, albeit not high, overpressures that in the long run can lead to fatigue failure of pipes or joints.

Such “hazardous” users cannot be identified by routine monitoring performed for other purposes by the operator as it is characterised by very low values of the sampling rate (generally, a data every few minutes). This frequency, in fact, does not allow us to capture the rapid pressure variations caused by the maneuvers performed by users. The data thus collected, however, can form the starting point for a more in-depth investigation as they allow us to identify the areas most exposed to frequent pressure variations. Subsequently, monitoring at the same nodes – at high frequency (1024 Hz or 2048 Hz) and using appropriate dataloggers – allows to increasingly narrow the scope of the investigation and to identify the “dangerous” user considering the path of the pressure waves. This procedure, which can be repeated for the different areas of the network, is absolutely not a candidate as a replacement for the company monitoring system but rather as an important integrative element of it. The role of high-frequency monitoring systems is essential to the success of the procedure. These must, in particular, ensure, for the short duration of sampling (of the order of one or two days, possibly both holidays and weekdays), the synchronism of the acquired data, their storage and easy analysis. Furthermore, dataloggers must be equipped with efficient batteries and be characterised by considerable robustness and “low” cost in order to be installed in wells that are often subject to flooding and unattended.

During the event, the results of investigations performed on real networks and some high-performance devices will be illustrated.

14:30 - 16:30

| Room Goccia

Water: plans for the future. Ideas for reforming the Consolidated Environmental Act, Part III

The climate crisis, whose effects on Italy are now structural, has highlighted the need for regulatory adaptation with a stronger focus on prevention. This requires long-term planning, aligned with recent European guidelines and incorporating nature restoration-based solutions, integration among environmental, urban planning and infrastructure policies, and stable investment in knowledge and monitoring. Above all, it requires legislation capable of balancing environmental protection, public safety and economic development.
The conference will provide an opportunity for AII to reaffirm the need for a structural revision of Part III of the Consolidated Environmental Act (Legislative Decree 152/2006), also in light of the new Directive 2026/805, which updates Water Framework Directive 2000/60 and the two "daughter directives" (groundwater and environmental quality standards), which Italy must transpose by 21 December 2027. This is not a simple technical update, but a cultural and political paradigm shift: from emergency response to prevention, from fragmentation to integration, from the short term to the long term.

15:00 - 17:00

| Room Oceano

Successful models for managing water resources and related infrastructure: the challenge of treated wastewater reuse

The reuse of treated wastewater, like all processes and models for the management, treatment and distribution of water resources, can no longer be considered solely as a tool for addressing water scarcity emergencies. In contexts characterized by persistent water shortages, it represents not only one of the essential solutions for ensuring the continuity of civil and economic activities, but also a circular approach to reducing withdrawals from natural sources and enhancing the competitiveness and resilience of local areas.
This challenge requires, and will increasingly require, investment in digitalized infrastructure, specialized human resources across all the sectors involved, medium- to long-term policymaking capacity and public-private synergies, also to ensure environmental, socio-economic and financial sustainability.

PROGRAM

Chairman: Cristian Chiavetta, AIDARA

Introductory greetings
Silvio Oliva, President AIDARA

Institutional interventions
European Commission
Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Mission Structure for combating water scarcity and strengthening water infrastructure *
Puglia Region, Department of Budget, General Affairs and Infrastructure - Water Resources Section *

Technologies, processes and models
Representatives of:
University of L'Aquila
University of Bari
Polytechnic University of Bari

Needs, innovation, scenarios
Water Positive Think Tank *
ANIMA Confindustria
Philip Morris Italia
Community Valore Acqua per l'Italia - TEHA

AIDARA companies and experiences

Final considerations and conclusions
Giorgio Maria Micale, Vice President AIDARA

* TBC