Water segment - Overview

The Acea Group is a national leader in terms of number of citizens served and one of the primary operators in the water sector. Activities regarding management of water resources for all phases defined by the integrated water service are performed with a par- ticular focus on preservation and safeguarding of water and natu- ral ecosystems from springs to surface bodies where water returns into the environment. Safeguarding of water resources translates primarily into recovering leaks (see the section Attention to water consumption), the circular economy, activities to combat climate change, protection of springs and other sites of interest at an EU, regional or local level and natural parks (see section Safeguarding of land and biodiversity) and also monitoring of internal water con- sumption, with the end goal of reducing consumption.

The total pool of users served in Italy by the Group¹⁴¹ is about 8.5 million residents, with volumes of drinking water fed into the net- work in 2021 equal to approximately 1,318 million cubic metres. The distribution networks of the main Group Companies oper- ating within the integrated water service stretches approximately 54,000 km (see Chart no. 54).

Chart no. 54 – The water distribution network of the main Group Companies in Italy (2021)

NOTE: the kilometres of network include the aqueducts.

The volume of drinking water drawn and issued by Acea Ato 2, Acea Ato 5, GORI, AdF and Gesesa in 2021 was approximately 1,040 million cubic tonnes, with total issue¹⁴² of 481 million cubic metres for more than 6 million citizens served. The specific data on the three Companies, are provided in the Environmental Accounts.

99.9% of the volumes drawn are fresh water, with the remainder, approximately 1 million m³ being seawater and drawn in the Tuscany area. The sources are located in areas at potential risk of water stress, as defined by the map of the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, drawn up by the World Resources Institute (WRI)¹⁴³ that illustrates the water availability of the different countries, taking into consid- eration risks caused by climate change, including extreme weather events (drought and flooding). The Companies in the water segment implement various initiatives to mitigate the impacts associated with these risks, including Water Safety Plans (see the section Water Safe- ty Plans - WSPs), actions to minimise leaks on distribution networks and investments to ensure greater security of water supplies.

In the ATO 2 - Lazio Centrale optimal territorial area alone, which includes Rome and another 112 Municipalities¹⁴⁴, in 80¹⁴⁵ of which, at 31 December 2021, Acea Ato 2 managed the entire IWS, having taken over the sewerage service in the Municipality of Rocca Can- terano in August 2021. The volume of water drawn and issued from and to the network, serving approximately 3.7 million citizens, was approximately 668 million cubic metres¹⁴⁶.

¹⁴¹The data for total number of citizens served by the water business, volume fed into the network, and size of the networks and checks on the water (shown in specific charts) include the main Operating Companies of the Group, including those outside the scope of the Consolidated Non-Financial Statement.
¹⁴²This refers to the total amount of drinking water dispensed and billed in the network by the Companies within the scope.
¹⁴³For identification of areas under water stress, as indicated by the standard GRI 303, the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas was employed, available on the World Resource Institute website: www.wri.org/aqueduct.
¹⁴⁴On 14/07/2021 with Regional Council Resolution n° 10, which followed Regional Executive Resolution no. 752 of 03/11/2020 on the same subject, Optimal Territorial Area n° 2, Central Lazio-Rome, was modified including in it the Municipality of Campagnano di Roma, which previously belonged to OTA no. 1 North Lazio-Viterbo.
¹⁴⁵In 17 other municipalities the integrated water service was managed partially.
¹⁴⁶The items of the water balance of the past three years were calculated using the calculation criteria supplied by ARERA. See the Environmental Accounts for details.