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The drinking water system in italy

Functions and responsibilities

The integrated water management in Italy occurs at the local level through the so-called ATO (Ambiti territoriali ottimali), land subdivisions defined by the regions. The ATOs are governed by the AATO (Autorità di ambito territoriale), the authority responsible for the land subdivision; one of its many tasks listed below is to appoint companies to manage the Integrated Water Service. The table below lists the institutions involved in the water cycle management with their respective responsibilities.

IN ITALY AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY
European Union
  • Issues the European drinking water directives
  • Sets quality standards for the drinking water and maximum allowable concentration of certain substances (so-called parameters) in drinking water sets discharge limits into surface waters
Italian Ministry for the environment, land and sea
  • Responsible for the Italian water policy
  • Defines costs breakdown to set tariffs for the water services depending on water use
Co.N.Vi.R.I.,
the Italian body in charge of overseeing water resources (ex Co.Vi.R.I.)
  • Supervises water supply services
  • Oversees observance of competition and transparency laws and regular setting and adjustment of water service tariffs
  • Protects users’ rights and the environment
  • Collects, processes and reports statistics and cognitive data supplied by water management companies every 12 months, in support of the water resources supervisory authority
Catchment authority
  • Defines and periodically updates the water situation to guarantee a balance between the available water resources in the reference water catchment area and the needs for various uses (civilian, agricultural, industrial)
  • Plans water saving according to its use
Regions
  • Defines the land subdivisions (ATOs)
  • Sets forms and means of cooperation between local authorities within ATOs
  • Defines the typical agreement templates governing relations between AATO and water management companies
Local authorities
  • Own networks (drinking water, sewers) and plants (water purification and wastewater treatment)
  • Establish forms of management for the authority in charge if the land subdivision (AATO)
AATO, the land subdivision authority
  • Organizes the integrated water service within its area
  • Defines the area plan (investments, management model, funding and financial plan and three-year plan)
  • Appoints companies to manage the Integrated water service
  • Supervises the management and reports the year results to the Ministry for the environment, land and sea
  • Sets the base tariff in keeping with the provisions of the ministerial decree
Management company
  • Manages the integrated water service
  • Manages networks and plants

IN MILAN AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY
City of Milan AATO
  • Plans, organizes and controls the integrated water service for the City
  • Elaborates management and investment plans (defines the Area plan)
  • Prepares the operation programme
  • Appoints companies to manage the Integrated water service
  • Supervises operations and reports annual results to the Ministry for the environment, land and sea
  • Sets the baseline tariff
MM
  • The management company of the Milan Integrated Water Service on behalf of the Milan ATO, appointed from 2003 to 2007 (first agreement), and from 2008 to 2027 (second agreement)
  • Manages the Integrated Water Service – capture, purification, distribution of drinking water; wastewater collection, treatment and discharge
  • Provides customer-oriented services
  • Carries out ordinary and extraordinary maintenance of networks and plants
  • Updates AATO on management issues and on service regularity
  • Monitors supplied water quality, that of raw and treated wastewater
  • Since the end of 2007, in charge of the environmental monitoring of the purification and treatment plants and of the surrounding land
The Milan Municipality
  • Owner of Integrated Water Service networks and plants outsourced to Metropolitana Milanese
Municipalities of Corsico, Buccinasco, San Donato Milanese, Peschiera Borromeo, Settimo Milanese, Rho and Sesto San Giovanni
  • Parties to agreements with the Milan Municipality for the supply and distribution of drinking water and connection of the sewerage network to the main inter-municipal sewer of the Milan Municipality relative to the land portions bordering with the City
The Milan ASL (local health authority)
  • Issues the declaration of suitability of water for human consumption, based on accurate monitoring
  • Takes random water samples periodically for testing
  • Invites the management company to act if the water supply does not comply with the quality levels laid down by the laws in force
  • Applies sanctions to the management company if it does not adopt measures in response to unfavourable test results
ARPA (regional environmental protection agency) Lombardy
  • Provides specialist support for administrative authorities and preliminary briefs for discharge authorizations
  • Appointed by ASL to monitor the water quality at collection points, in water supply and distribution networks, in purification and treatment plants
  • Carries out environmental monitoring and verifies that limits and requirements are complied with
  • Carries out environmental monitoring of waterways: chemical, physical and bacteriological analyses, environmental performance indexes
Province of Milan
  • Issues authorizations for discharge into the public sewer system and into surface and underground water
MilanoDepur Spa
  • The Company which manages the Milan’s Nosedo wastewater treatment plant
  • Performs internal monitoring of the treatment efficiency
Degrémont Spa
  • The Contractor managing the Milan’s San Rocco wastewater treatment plant
  • Performs internal monitoring of the treatment efficiency
Amiacque Srl
  • Provides the wastewater treatment service (the Peschiera Borromeo plant) under an agreement with the eastern Milan suburbs