The water footprint: a tool to help strengthen our connection with water

23 September 2024 - 15:42

A very close bond. This is how the relationship between water and our country can be defined in a few words. This connection returns in mythology, which links the founding of Rome to the Tiber to which Romulus and Remus were entrusted, but also in history, with the epic of the Maritime Republics, and in literature, from Petrarch’s “chiare fresche et dolci acque” to Lake Como, which opens “I Promessi Sposi” (The Betrothed). Water, after all, encircles three quarters of our peninsula, and even in areas not directly lapped by the sea, there are many lakes and rivers inextricably linked to local communities.

This bond is also reflected in the use we make of water. Italy, in fact, ranks first among EU countries for the amount, in absolute value, of fresh water withdrawn for drinking from surface or groundwater bodies. This was reported by Istat, in its report released in 2023 entitled “Istat water statistics - years 2020 - 2022”. In short, we are the country that makes the most use of what the land has made available to it and what the infrastructure is able to make available. The heritage we have is located mainly under our feet. Groundwater sources are in fact the predominant mode of supply in Italy, with sources and springs accounting for 85% of total withdrawals, followed by lakes, rivers and artificial reservoirs (16%).

Numbers that are reflected in high per capita consumption. On average, each of us in Italy uses 422 litres of water per day, totalling more than 25.1 million cubic metres across the country. If we extend the figure to an annual level, according to the position paper produced by A2A and The European House - Ambrosetti with over 156 cubic metres per year of withdrawal per inhabitant, we are in second place as the most water-intensive country in Europe, preceded only by Greece.

The demand for water is not constant at all times of the year. Indeed, we are approaching the summer season, when demand is higher due to hot weather and reduced rainfall. According to Istat’s findings, in fact, in Italy the greatest water withdrawal occurs during the July-September quarter, months in which we take about 2.5 billion cubic metres of water from natural sources, 26.4% of the annual total.

This bond, however, must be defended. Water is not having an easy time in this period. The climate crisis has led to an increase in extreme events such as floods and storms in recent years. According to the paper by A2A and The European House - Ambrosetti, 1,004 heavy rainfall events were recorded in our country in 2022, a number almost four times higher than the average of 275 a year witnessed in the five-year period 2015-2021.

On the other hand, and it is almost a paradox, drought is also a serious threat to our country. According to an FAO report, in Italy we have lost 30% of our total water resources in the last 30 years. Research by A2A and The European House - Ambrosetti confirms this trend, highlighting how Italy ranks fifth in Europe for the share of territory exposed to extreme drought.

These figures make it clear how hydrogen and oxygen atoms are becoming an increasingly valuable resource that each of us has a duty to preserve. To do this, it is essential to become aware of how we use them every day.

The water footprint

In this regard, the Water Footprint, an indicator that calculates the amount of water consumed and polluted to produce goods and services along the entire supply chain, has existed since 2002. The model is the same as other environmental impact parameters, such as the generic ecological footprint or the more focused carbon footprint, which measures greenhouse gas emissions. The idea came from Arjen Hoekstra, a professor at the University of Twente, who founded the Water Footprint Network, a non-profit organisation that aims at sharing ideas and projects for overcoming the challenges of sustainable water use.

The water footprint can be calculated for any group of consumers (individuals, households, population centres, regions, countries) or producers (public organisations, private companies and economic sectors), for a single process, or for each product or service.
According to the calculation method devised by the Dutch scientist, the total water footprint is divided into three sub-categories: the Green Water Footprint, which indicates the water that evaporates or is absorbed by plants, which is mainly relevant for agricultural products.

The Blue Water Footprint, on the other hand, represents the amount of water resource withdrawn from natural sources, surface or groundwater, and not returned to them: water used in the home or in industrial processes falls into this category.
The third and last type is the Grey Water Footprint, which measures the volume of freshwater needed to make the polluted water resource available again.

The calculation gives us impressive numbers: according to data from the Water Footprint Network, for example, every year a US citizen consumes almost 3,000 cubic metres of water, while Italy’s water footprint is estimated at around 130 billion cubic metres per year - one of the highest in Europe.

Count the drop

As a Life Company, at A2A we are committed every day to the protection of water in all its forms. We do this by means of awareness campaigns, work on infrastructure, events in the territory such as the opening of the Mompiano Spring and the Verziano (BS) sewage treatment plant in Brescia to the public, and with increasingly large investments. In fact, we have been able to dedicate investments of 130 euro per year per citizen to water resources, compared to a national average of 56 euro.

To spread a new water culture and help each of us embrace increasingly responsible behaviour, we have launched Count the drop, a game that allows you to calculate your water footprint in a simple and fun way. By answering a series of questions, you will find out what kind of consumer you are, and you will get tips on how to limit waste.