Italy has the lowest tariffs in Europe for the management of the water service: for a consumption of 180 cubic meters of water, considering the standard of a family unit of three, an Italian family spends an average of 272,82 dollars year, against 1405,39 for a Danish family, about 780 dollars for Austria, Great Britain and France and 766,39 dollars for Germany. Overall, the sector requires investments of at least 65 billion euros. These are the most relevant data that emerge from the 2011 edition of the "Blue Book", a study carried out annually by the Utilitatis foundation to verify the state of water resources in Italy.
According to Mauro D'Ascenzi, vice president of Federutility “the maneuver is expected to be a driving force for development. Almost 66 billion euros would need to be invested in the water sector, which would not weigh on the state budget and would be a formidable counter-cyclical tool for employment and development. Instead we are in a situation of regulatory uncertainty with the sword of Damocles of EU fines for the delays we have in the construction of purifiers and with local public services penalized by the economic manoeuvre".
