Panel 1
Riccardo Boiocchi, Giancarlo De Gironimo, Massimo Peleggi, Silvana Salvati
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%).
This is a response indicator that expresses the amount of biodegradable organic load reaching urban wastewater treatment plants relative to the total organic load produced by agglomerations (2,000 PE or more) within the national territory. The percentage of biodegradable organic load conveyed to treatment plants equipped with secondary treatment (or more advanced systems for discharges in sensitive areas) represents the level of wastewater treatment system coverage nationally.
To verify the percentage of treated wastewater at the national level.
Directive 91/271/EEC, Legislative Decree No. 152/2006
Panel 2
https://cdr.eionet.europa.eu/help/UWWTD/UWWTD_613
https://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-urbanwaste/info/pdf/terms.pdf
The national framework could be more comprehensive if agglomerations with fewer than 2,000 population equivalents were also considered.
Completion of information useful to the indicator.
Data quality assessment
ARPA/APPA (Regional and Autonomous Provincial Environmental Protection Agencies)
The data were acquired through the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 2024 (UWWTD 2024) questionnaire prepared by the European Commission to periodically check the state of implementation of the Directive on the national territory and made available on the SINTAI.
National, Regional
2022-2023
Indicator assessment
The percentage of treated wastewater was obtained by calculating the amount of treated wastewater (in population equivalents) relative to the total load generated by agglomerations of 2,000 PE or more.
In 2023, 93.51% of the total organic load produced by agglomerations was purified in urban wastewater treatment plants (Figure 2).
Compared to 2020, the percentage of treated load relative to the generated load in agglomerations of 2,000 PE or more remains stable (from 93.3% to 93.51%).
Data
Table 1: Load generated and load purified by agglomerations greater than or equal to 2,000 pe - regional detail (2022-2023)
ISPRA processing on ARPA/APPA and regional data (UWWTD 2024 Questionnaire)
: In 2022, the value of treated organic load amounted to 73,395,222 PE, compared to the total generated load of 78,486,277 PE (Table 1). Regional details show that the percentage of treated organic load exceeds 90% in 16 regions, including the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano (Trentino-Alto Adige), while in 3 Regions it reached values above 85%. The lowest percentage is recorded in Sicily (70%) (Figure 1).