Water and water networks as a strategic and fundamental tool for the destiny of the country. The government believes this. Confirmation comes from the conference “Water = development” held yesterday at Palazzo Wedekind and promoted by Acea and Il Tempo, which addresses the issue of water, its use, the fight against waste and how the government will act in this regard. One dossier, that of water infrastructure, for which the first news came from the Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini, who announced the postponement of the national water plan from October. «As Ministry of Infrastructure, the deadline was September, but the regions asked us for a few more weeks and eventually we will arrive in October. We have four years.” With regard to the use of resources, he added: “In terms of medium and long-term planning, a national water plan with multi-annual budget deviations is necessary to avoid chasing continuous contingencies and emergencies”, guaranteeing that ” all the funds made available by the Pnrr for the water sector will be spent by 2026″. The leader of the League did not rule out the arrival of another billion in other fundraising. government to overcome the 3.5 km of water that divide two parts of Italy and after fifty years unite them without putting pillars in the water.” At the same time, Acea also highlighted the importance of a national water network in this context, as explained Director General Fabrizio Palermo, who was present at the event: “Investing in the expansion of infrastructure and having an integrated transport network is essential. There is a gas network and an electricity network but there is still no water supply. Throughout history, water has been a fundamental element in the development of this country and even today it represents a key to development, especially industrial.
Much of the industry depends on water cycles and having a good water supply is fundamental not only for the human question but also for everything related to agriculture”. On the management of water infrastructure, the CEO of Palermo offered a starting point: “The issue of resolving the entire management of infrastructure involves three concepts. The first is to be able to intercept all the water from the sources, either from the rain or from the sources themselves, and the second is to have an adequate transport structure. In the latter case, all networks that exist today must be adapted and interconnected in order to create as much of a national network as possible. The third is to dedicate as much as possible to the reuse of water, which means purification on the one hand, and on the other hand creating network systems that use this water to also transport it for agricultural purposes, for example. All three of these actions aim to create an integrated and above all optimized cycle». He then explained the potential that our country has in terms of water: «Reusing water through purification is essential and today there are state-of-the-art systems in this regard: Italy currently exploits only 4% in terms of reuse, but could easily reach to 20% and that would alter the national water balance”.
The government’s responses also come from the Minister of the Environment, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin: “We have a water system that is made up of almost 2,400 managers, many still in the economy. The path started is that of the territorial areas to reach a hundred managers who have the robustness to plan and make investments and create a system of aqueducts that does not have 40% losses. Pichetto Fratin then added his idea about fighting waste and optimizing the use of water: “There are many things to do: Italy collects only 11% of rainwater. We have nine billion wastewater and very little is treated and reused. Dams hold half the water they could. There are so many things to do.” Salvini also follows the same line: “On the subject of water, I am absolutely convinced that it is necessary to rationalize. There cannot be thousands of entities operating. The objective of this legislature is to rationalize, accelerate and innovate». The Minister of Infrastructure, Salvini, recalled that, even within the scope of the Pnrr, “there are 146 projects”, in addition to all the large dams. Among these, “the duplication of Peschiera, in which we invested 700 million euros. We are trying to spend this 4 billion euros.” Salvini turned to Minister Pichetto Fratin to jokingly ask for financial help: “If you want to give me a billion, I’ll also spend five billion.” The president of Coldiretti Ettore was also present. Prandini, who said more than himself in favor of rationalizing water in Italy: “One of the most important works to carry out is the accumulation of water. Today we retain only 11% of rainwater. Our goal is to reach 50%, we would give a response in relation to periods of drought and violent atmospheric phenomena. We need an effort on the part of the institutions to streamline bureaucratic obligations». Coldiretti’s president, Ettore Prandini, also participated in the works and spoke of the need to start building reservoirs and basins to capture rainwater. «One of the most important works that will have to be carried out in strategic terms for the future of our country is precisely the accumulation of water, today we retain only 11% of rainwater. Our goal in the coming years is to reach 50%. In this way we will respond to the periods of drought that we have experienced in recent years and the particularly violent atmospheric phenomena, retaining water when there is excessive rainfall» explained Prandini, who added: «An effort is needed on the part of the institutions to streamline all bureaucratic formalities».
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
