The quality of bathing waters is fundamental for safeguarding citizens' health and also plays an important role from the perspective of protecting the natural environment and in terms of economic aspects in the tourism sector. For this reason, specific monitoring is carried out throughout the entire bathing season.
For the 2023 bathing season, more than 31,000 samples of sea and lake water were collected and analyzed over a total of more than 5,000 km of coastline designated for bathing.
At the municipal level, the kilometers of coastline are divided into more or less extensive bathing waters, for a total of 5,490 bathing waters.
The results of the analyses, in addition to ensuring the absence of health and hygiene risks during the season, also made it possible to classify the waters.
The classification was made using the monitoring results from the 2023 bathing season and those of the previous three seasons (2022-2021-2020).
At the national level, most of the waters fall into the excellent class (90.6%), however, critical issues still persist due to the presence of waters in the poor class (1.3%) and not classifiable (0.5%), for which it is not possible to express a quality judgment.
Also at the regional level, the percentage of waters in the excellent class is the highest and in some cases equals 100%.
In almost all regions, the waters in the sufficient and poor classes are decreasing, but the presence of the latter still prevents the full achievement of the directive’s objective.

The percentage of treated wastewater reflects the amount of biodegradable organic load that reaches urban wastewater treatment plants compared to the total organic load produced by agglomerations (2,000 PE or more) across the national territory. In 2022-2023, this percentage is 93.51%, an increase compared to 2020 (93.3%).

The presence or absence of a sewage network and the percentage of wastewater conveyed into collection systems indicate the degree of compliance with the requirements of the applicable regulations. In 2022-2023, the national compliance rate is 99.1%. Of the organic load, 95.7% is conveyed into the sewer system, 3.6% is treated through individual systems, while 0.7% is not connected.

Compliance monitoring allows for an understanding of the technological adaptation status of urban wastewater treatment systems for agglomerations greater than or equal to 2,000 PE (Population Equivalent). This is particularly useful for planning potential actions aimed at water protection.

Between 2022 and 2023, out of the 3,037 agglomerations analyzed, approximately 77% were found to be compliant, 13.8% non-compliant, 4.6% partially compliant, and 4.6% with data unavailable. A 100% compliance rate is recorded in Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano.

The indicator refers to 2022 and is drawn up on the basis of Istat data relating to the last “Nable Review for Civil Use” carried out in 2023 and published in 2024. The information is provided on a national, regional and by hydrographic district, divided in turn into removal from the surface and underground body water. The levy values are compared with those detected in the previous "Nail census for civil use" of 2020. Also in 2022, compared to the previous 2020 census, the water withdrawal for civil use in Italy has decreased slightly.

The Chemical Status of Groundwater (SCAS) indicator assesses the chemical quality of Italian groundwater bodies by comparing pollutant concentrations with the Environmental Quality Standards and Threshold Values specified in Tables 2 and 3 of Ministerial Decree (DM) 6/7/2016.

Depending on whether these concentration limits are met, a groundwater body is classified as having either good or poor chemical status. This classification, along with quantitative status, determines the overall groundwater condition. The indicator is based on data from the classification of water bodies reported in WISE Reporting for the 3rd River Basin Management Plan (RBMP).

At the national level, during the 2016-2021 classification period related to the 3rd RBMP, there was an increase in groundwater bodies classified as having good chemical status, reaching 70% of the total (compared to 58% in the 2nd RBMP). The percentage of water bodies classified as poor was 27%.

At the district level, the percentage of groundwater bodies with good chemical status ranges from 56% in the Sicily District to 85% in the Eastern Alps District. Across all hydrographic districts, the number of water bodies with unknown status has significantly decreased compared to the previous cycle, with all water bodies now classified in the Eastern Alps, Southern Apennines, and Sicily Districts.

The indicator provides an assessment of the chemical quality of Italian surface water bodies. The chemical status is evaluated based on the concentration of chemical substances in the water and biota matrices, specifically those listed in the Priority Substances List (Table 1/A of Legislative Decree 152/2006 and subsequent amendments). These substances are classified as priority, priority hazardous, and other substances.

For each substance in the Priority Substances List, Italian legislation—implementing European Directives—establishes Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) that must be met for a water body to be classified as having good chemical status. The chemical status, together with the ecological status, contributes to the overall “environmental status” evaluation of each water body.

The indicator was developed using classification data from the WISE Reporting of the 3rd River Basin Management Plan (RBMP). At both the national and district levels, an increase in the number of water bodies classified as having good chemical status has been observed for rivers and lakes, along with a decrease in the number of unclassified water bodies, compared to the previous cycle.

The legislation (Legislative Decree 152/2006) mandates achieving good status of water bodies (chemical + ecological) by the deadlines established by the current legislation. The analysis of chemical status shows heterogeneous values among the districts, with 100% of water bodies in good status only for the Central Apennines and 52% for Sardinia. In all other districts, the percentage of water bodies in good status never exceeds 50% and ranges from 3% in the Eastern Alps to 40% in the Northern Apennines.

A comparison between the status in the 2nd Water Management Plan (WMP) cycle and that in the 3rd cycle shows maintenance of good chemical status for 100% of the water bodies in the Central Apennines, an improvement for those in the Northern Apennines (from 30% to 40%), Sardinia (from 12% to 52%), and Sicily (from 11% to 17%), and a worsening for the water bodies in the Eastern Alps District (from 51% to 3%), Po River (from 65% to 23%), and Southern Apennines (from 18% to 11%).

At the national level, the number of water bodies in good status is 56 out of 172 (33%) in the 2nd WMP cycle, while in the 3rd cycle it is 42 out of 146 (29%).

The ecological status of surface waters reflects the quality of the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Directive 2000/60/EC (transposed in Italy with Legislative Decree 152/2006) mandates the achievement of "good" quality status for water bodies, which is determined by the assessment of both ecological and chemical status. The indicator provides an evaluation of the ecological status of surface water bodies—specifically inland waters—based on classification data from the WISE 2022 Reporting related to the 3rd Water Management Plan. At the national level, comparing the ecological quality status data between the 2nd and 3rd Management Plans shows a reduction in water bodies with unknown status, from 18% to 10%, though they are still present. In general, the ecological status has not significantly changed from the previous management cycle, except for the percentage of lakes in good status, which has increased from 17% to 35%.

Transitional waters are defined in Legislative Decree 152/2006 as "surface water bodies near a river mouth, partially saline due to their proximity to coastal waters but significantly influenced by freshwater flows." This definition encompasses coastal lagoons and coastal ponds subject to ecological classification. Italian transitional environments are exposed to numerous pressure factors, often leading to degradation of ecological conditions in these fragile ecosystems. The ecological status analysis shows heterogeneous values, both in the number of Water Bodies (WB) and in the distribution across quality classes, with a prevalence of sufficient and poor statuses in all Districts. Comparing the status of the 2nd Water Management Plan (WMP) cycle with that of the 3rd cycle, it is observed that for all hydrographic districts, ecological status remains predominantly sufficient and poor. However, there is an increase in the percentage of water bodies in good status in the Eastern Alps District (from 7% to 11%), Northern Apennines District (from 10% to 20%), Southern Apennines District (from 0% to 6%), and Sardinia District (from 0% to 26%). National analysis of ecological status shows that the number of water bodies in good or high status increased from 9 out of 172 (5%) in the 2nd WMP cycle to 22 out of 146 (15%) in the 3rd cycle.

The indicator provides the percentage of groundwater monitoring stations divided into quality classes based on the average nitrate concentration recorded over a four-year monitoring period (2016–2019). Specifically:

• 68.1% of stations show an average nitrate concentration below 25 mg/L,
• Only 12.6% of monitored points recorded an average concentration equal to or above 50 mg/L.

Additionally, an analysis comparing the trend over the last four years (2016–2019) to the previous four years (2012–2015) reveals predominantly stable nitrate concentrations, a decrease in average concentration at 37.9% of common stations between the two periods, and an increase at only 22.7% of the same stations.

The quantitative status of groundwater describes the balance of a water body in terms of the relationship between extraction and natural replenishment of the water resource. A groundwater body is defined as being in "good quantitative status" if groundwater levels ensure that the annual average withdrawals for long-term anthropogenic activities do not exhaust the available groundwater resources, do not cause damage to surface waters and connected ecosystems, and do not lead to saline intrusion or other types of contamination.

This indicator has been derived from the classification data of water bodies in the WISE Reporting of the 3rd Water Management Plan (WMP). Nationally, during the 2016-2021 classification period under the 3rd WMP, an increase in groundwater bodies classified as being in "good quantitative status" was observed, reaching 79% of the total (compared to 61% in the 2nd WMP). The percentage of groundwater bodies in "poor" status is 19%, while 2% remain unclassified. At the district level, the percentages of water bodies achieving "good quantitative status" range from 98% in the Eastern Alps District to 58% in the Southern Apennine District.