In Palermo, the area-wide plan approved in December 2020 highlights aging networks constructed over the years using a variety of materials (steel, HDPE, concrete); these are often in “poor condition and suffer from high water loss rates, although the lack of flow measurement often makes it impossible to determine the exact figures.”
The situation regarding water losses is particularly critical. Out of 82 municipalities, 23 report losses of less than 30%, 23 exceed 30%, 15 exceed 50%, and 9 exceed 70%; furthermore, the absence of a reliable metering system leads to significant discrepancies in the actual assessment of losses. The resulting water rationing schedules during the summer months are classified by ARERA (the Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and Environment) as “service interruptions.”
Water supply is also highly problematic: out of a total of 295 municipal reservoirs, 23 are currently unused. The area-wide plan further notes that in several municipalities, reservoirs are “located at elevations no longer suitable for adequately serving the connected water networks,” thereby compromising service efficiency and continuity. Local networks, both supply and distribution, are described as the result of “ad hoc design layered over time in the absence of comprehensive planning.”
Regarding governance, there is a fragmentation of responsibilities, albeit less severe than the chaotic situation found in other provinces: the Palermo Optimal Territorial Area (ATO) comprises 82 municipalities with a total population of approximately 1,252,588. The primary supply system is the Palermo Water System (SIP), which meets “more than 75% of the ATO’s total demand and serves a population of over one million inhabitants.” The SIP produces “over 116 million cubic meters annually, representing 75% of the total resources produced within the Palermo ATO.” The management model outlined in the Plan entails entrusting the service to AMAP S.p.A., with a progressive extension of management to municipalities not yet integrated, in order to overcome historical fragmentation.
Find out about the situation in other Sicilian provinces here.
