Water segment - Overview

The Acea Group is a leader in Italy in terms of the number of citizens it serves and is one of the primary operators in the water sector. The management of water resources, which includes the collection, supply and distribution of water for civil use, sewerage and wastewater treatment are carried out with an increasing focus on preserving and safeguarding water and natural ecosystems, from springs to bodies of the water where the water returns to the environment. Safeguarding of water resources is also expressed through 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 consumption, with the goal of reducing consumption.

The total pool of users served in Italy by the Group²¹⁰ is over 8.8 million residents, with volumes of drinking water fed into the network in 2023 equal to 1,274 million cubic metres. The distribution networks of the main Group Companies operating within the integrated water service stretches 55,228 km (see Chart no. 54).

Chart no. 54 – The water distribution network of the main Group Companies in Italy (2023)

NOTE: the kilometres of network include the aqueducts

The volumes of drinking water drawn and fed into the grid by Acea Ato 2, Acea Ato 5, Gori, AdF and Gesesa, during the year, was 1,005 million cubic metres, with a total delivery²¹¹ of 480 million cubic metres to the 6.3 million residents 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, at approximately 760,000 m3 seawater and drawn in Tuscany by AdF. The supply sources are located in areas at potential risk of water stress, as defined by the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, drawn up by the World Resources Institute (WRI), which illustrates countries’ water availability, taking into account physical global data212. The Companies within the Water Business implement various initiatives to miti- gate the impacts associated with these risks, for example, defining and implementing Water Safety Plans (see the section "Water Safety Plans - WSPs"), actions to minimise leaks on distribution networks and investments to secure water supplies.

In ATO 2 - Lazio Centrale, which includes Rome and 112 other municipalities²¹³, at 31 December 2023, Acea Ato 2 managed the entire integrated water service²¹⁴ for 90²¹⁵ municipalities, thanks to the completion of the acquisition in 2023 of Rignano Flaminio.The volume of water drawn and issued from and to the network, serving approximately 4 million citizens, was approximately 670 million cubic metres²¹⁶.

210 The 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: Acque, Publiacqua and Umbra Acque.
211 This refers to the total amount of drinking water dispensed and billed by the Companies within the scope.
212 As per the Standard GRI 303, the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, available on the website World Resource Institute: https://www.wri.org/aqueduct was used in this regard using open- source, peer reviewed data to map water risks, such as flooding, drought and stress.
213 On 14.07.2021 with Regional Council Resolution no. 10, which followed Regional Executive Resolution no. 752 of 03.11.2020, Optimal Territorial Area no. 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.
214 Acea was entrusted with the running of the capital’s aqueduct service since 1937, the water treatment system since 1985 and the entire sewerage system since 2002, eective 1 January 2003.
215 In 16 other municipalities the integrated water service was managed partially.
216 The water balance items for the last three years were determined using the calculation criteria provided by ARERA. The figure does not include the municipalities subject to exemptions in 2023 for the macro-indicator M1 pursuant to ARERA Resolution 917/2017/R/idr. See also the Environmental Accounts.