Water Resources Management in Italy: Institutions, Laws and Approaches

Abstract

Starting with Law no. 36/1994, later expanded on by the Italian Environmental Code of 2006, waters in Italy are no longer regarded as a production asset to be exploited, in a perspective of economic efficiency; they are finally seen as an environmental asset to be protected. All waters are public, so that the State may take care of them and preserve them for future generations. The State does not therefore act as the owner but, rather, as the custodian of waters. Water displays all the features of common pool resources (provision of non-excludable ecological services, scarcity, and vulnerability), and community self-governance instruments – such as river contracts – are increasingly widespread. District-scale planning has become standard practice, leading to a re-sizing of the role of concessions, which are being revised more and more often in the increasingly frequent water shortage situations. The integrated water service is regulated by the Italian Regulatory Authority for Energy, Networks and the Environment, which, mostly through the approval of pricing policies, drives operators towards efficiency improvements and infrastructural investments. Pricing has also taken on a social function, in that it must fund both water bill reductions for low-income households and measures designed to limit disconnections for payment default.