Sunday 22 March marks World Water Day, and more than 36,000 participants will take part in the Acea Run Rome The Marathon: Acea reaffirms its commitment to the sustainable management of the resource that flows through 65,000 kilometres of drinking water network and serves 11 million citizens.

Across sustainability, education, sport and innovation, Acea promotes the responsible use of water

It is like filling an Olympic-sized swimming pool every 2 minutes. This is the amount of drinking water Acea distributes every day through its networks: 1.64 billion litres, equivalent to more than 19,000 litres per second. A continuous flow that provides 11 million citizens with high-quality water every day, supporting daily life in cities and communities across 8 Italian regions. Acea, Italy’s leading water operator and the second largest in Europe, is ready to celebrate World Water Day, which this year coincides with the Acea Run Rome the Marathon, of which Acea is the title sponsor, in order to raise public awareness and address the issue of climate change, which is having an increasingly significant impact on the global water crisis.

The Numbers. With 65,000 kilometres of drinking water network and more than 1,400 wastewater treatment plants, Acea works every day to ensure the availability of and access to clean water for all, backed by €890.8 million in investment. Every year, 600 million cubic metres of drinking water are distributed, and 770 million cubic metres of water are treated by its treatment plants, supported by more than 1,500 analytical quality tests. In line with the values of sustainability and reuse, Acea has for years invested in innovative and efficient water infrastructure, promoted the adoption of responsible water-use practices, and remained close to the communities in which it operates in order to safeguard and preserve natural water resources. Indeed, as stated in the 2025 financial report just approved, as much as 4.4 million cubic metres of water is recycled and reused, marking a 29% increase compared with 2024 and covering 90% of industrial water requirements.

Acea Abroad. The company operates not only in Italy, but also internationally, particularly in Latin America, with an established presence in Peru, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, where its integrated water services serve more than 10 million people. Acea, the only Italian water operator to sit on the steering committee of the Mattei Plan, has been awarded the contract in Congo for the SAEP Djoué II project, which aims to provide drinking water to more than one million people in Brazzaville. The company is also involved in initiatives in Tunisia, Angola, Mozambique, Mauritania, Morocco and Kenya, covering the entire water value chain: supply, treatment and reuse of wastewater, desalination, and sewerage. Acea is strengthening its international role by participating for the third consecutive year in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, where CEO Fabrizio Palermo presented the report “Bridging the €6.5 Trillion Water Infrastructure Gap”, produced in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, which highlighted a global water investment requirement of €11.4 trillion by 2040 and a gap of €6.5 trillion. In the European context, Acea has contributed to shaping the European Commission’s “Water Resilience Strategy” and has proposed a single coordinating body for water management. In support of these objectives, the European Investment Bank has launched a programme worth more than €40 billion (2025-2027) to support investment in reuse, desalination and environmental protection. Within this framework, the Water Industry was also established at the WEF, a global community chaired by Palermo that brings together companies and stakeholders to define shared strategies. In this way, Acea aims to consolidate its position as a leader in the water transition in Europe, promoting greater awareness of water scarcity and a widespread culture of water protection.

Education. With more than 226,000 training hours delivered in 2025, Acea promotes a structured training and awareness-raising strategy aimed at schools, businesses and citizens, with a particular focus on young people, also through initiatives developed with the Ministry of Education and Merit, such as Acea Scuola Water Education, aimed at primary and lower secondary school students across Italy, and advanced programmes such as the Master in Water Management developed with 24ORE Business School and Intesa Sanpaolo. Lastly, through the Acea Academy, the company invests in developing its employees’ skills to address the challenges of the water and sustainability transitions.