In recent decades, an increasingly attention to sustainability has been a source of inspiration for new regulations in the field of water resource protection, starting with the Water Framework Directive (WFD, 2000/60/EC). In Italy, the enactment of the WFD was ensured through Legislative Decree 152/2006 and subsequent implementing decrees concerning the assessment of the conservation status of natural ecosystems associated with a specific socio-economic framework.
The activities aimed at protecting water resources include monitoring in terms of quantity, as well as a careful quality assessment - not only to meet drinking or agricultural needs, but also to safeguard natural ecosystems.
Water resources are not static systems but evolve continuously. Every natural environment is governed by complex processes in which many elements interact. Nature can always surprise us. That is why it is important to monitor it and try to predict its changes.
Claudio Mineo, Head of the Sustainable Water Management Unit of Acea Ato 2.
As part of the management of an integrated water system, starting from water catchment at the springs, it is possible to identify structural and infrastructural interventions supported by technical and operational knowledge and skills.
In order to ensure the functionality of water supply systems, a first fundamental aspect to consider is the correct design and subsequent implementation of structural interventions. 'An example is the catchment plant at the Pertuso caves in the province of Frosinone, at the source of the Aniene river, where water is extracted at a karst cavity and then fed into the aqueduct through an intake and stilling chamber designed and built by integrating engineering and natural elements in the best possible way,' says Claudio Mineo, hydraulic engineer and Head of the Sustainable Water Management Unit of Acea Ato 2.
Pertuso caves in the province of Frosinone, at the source of the Aniene river.
Another fundamental aspect for the operational maintenance of water systems implies infrastructural interventions: the installation of measuring and monitoring systems such as rain, level and pressure gauges, hydrometers, climatic stations, and in general all the large and small infrastructures that allow the state of the system to be constantly monitored and the evolution of its conditions to be tracked over time.
The digital gauges and sensors installed at the monitoring points provide data to feed calibrated predictive models for different types of sources. Such models are essential, both in the short and long term, to interpret and anticipate any intervention.
Digital gauges and sensors as an interface to understand the water resource
Rain gauges measure the millimetres of rain fallen over a certain period of time.
Hydrometers detect the water level of rivers and lakes against a fixed reference (hydrometric zero).
Current meters measure the flow of water passing through a given river section over a certain period of time.
Level and pressure gauges measure respectively the water level in a reservoir and the water pressure in a pipe, converting these data into signals visible both on site or by a remote transmission and control system.
Weather stations include a set of measuring instruments which monitor the physical conditions of the atmosphere in a certain location for weather and climatic purposes. These are useful to collect data for interpretation and predictive models of processes related to water availability from sources.
In conclusion, knowledge support is essential in all activities aimed at protecting springs and using water in a sustainable way. Through research, it is indeed possible to experiment the most innovative techniques for the protection of water resources. To carry out research in the field, Acea collaborates with universities and other centres of excellence, including:
Much is being done to protect water resources - being them upstream, along the distribution network and downstream - in terms of recovery and recycling after its use and reintroduction into nature.
Source: 2021 Sustainability Report
Moreover, residual sludge from purification processes can be reused due to anaerobic digestion plants for the production of biogas, which can in turn be refined and used as biomethane instead of natural gas, with remarkable economic and environmental benefits.
Water, as a source of life and wealth, is an invaluable asset at every stage of its natural 'value chain'. That is why it is necessary to safeguard the ecosystems to guarantee new generations a sustainable future.
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