Press Release

Initiatives for young people, conferences, and visits to plants have been planned ahead of the event, which falls on 22 March. Today at Ara Pacis, Giuseppe Valditara, Minister of Education, and Fabrizio Palermo, CEO of Acea, met with students to discuss water education themes

On World Water Day 2025, scheduled for 22 March, the Acea Group, Italy’s leading water operator, is promoting a series of initiatives to spread a culture of respect for water resources nationwide, with particular attention to waste reduction.

In particular, today at Ara Pacis in Rome, Fabrizio Palermo, CEO of Acea, together with Giuseppe Valditara, Minister of Education and Merit, met with over one hundred students from primary and secondary schools during an event titled “Water as a priority, it is time for water education”, dedicated to the importance of spreading a new water culture based on water conservation in light of the scenarios posed by climate change and the risk of drought. The focus of the meeting was the need to define a common strategy for managing water resources at the European and international levels, as well as addressing the sector’s current and future challenges, in light of the key role played by new technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, in improving the management and efficiency of water infrastructure. On World Water Day, Acea has organized guided visits to its plants this week for students across all the areas where it manages the water service. The visits will begin on 20 March with a tour of Termoli’s purification plant.

“Investing in water education in schools – stated Fabrizio Palermo, CEO of the Acea Group – is important because young people represent the future, and everything depends on raising awareness of how to manage fundamental resources. In this regard, it is essential to return to the origins, drawing from a water culture that has always distinguished the greatest civilizations in history. Lasting results can only be achieved by understanding how to preserve water and by training young people in schools. The goal is to achieve a water transition, since water also has an economic value, directly and indirectly influencing up to 40% of the country’s GDP. Yet this value is often underestimated.”

On Thursday, 20 March, Palermo will meet Jessika Roswall, European Commissioner for Environment and Resilience, during her institutional visit to Rome. “It will be an opportunity – stated Palermo – to present our proposals on what we believe could be useful in improving the water situation, not only for our country but also at the European level. It is a series of suggestions – Palermo explains – that we have taken the liberty to compile in a document, which we will deliver to the Commissioner, containing concrete proposals and initiatives aimed at improving the situation in the coming years. Additionally, a series of initiatives, conferences, and debates on water-related issues are planned, with the participation of top managers from the Group and sector experts.

Always committed to protecting water resources, Acea has already adopted a sustainable and efficient strategy for network management, which has resulted, first and foremost, in a reduction of water losses. In Rome, during 2024, losses decreased by 27% compared to the national average of 42%. Regarding infrastructure, the Peschiera pipeline doubling project has been unlocked. It is one of the largest aqueducts in Europe and will secure the water supply for central Lazio and the capital. With an investment of 1.5 billion euros, this project represents the most significant nationwide development in the water sector. Still within the water sector, 24 projects have been approved under the NRRP’s notices and are now in progress, with a total value of approximately 560 million euros. These interventions relate to water abstraction and distribution networks, water loss recovery, and sewage sludge treatment, not only in Rome and its metropolitan area but also in Tuscany, Umbria, and Campania.