22-03-2023

A global water crisis accompanies World Water Day, which is celebrated every March 22nd. Legambiente, the Land Reclamation Association, and the Italian Alliance for Sustainable Development, organizations with a comprehensive view of the situation, are calling for an integrated water strategy based on three directives: reducing losses, rationalizing water use, and working on infrastructure.

“Digital twin, IoT connectivity, remote sensing, GIS & location intelligence, edge computing, advanced analytics, and machine learning are shaping the future of aqueducts and water networks in the name of sustainability,” emphasizes Antonio Amati, Almaviva’s General Manager of IT, in a conversation with Adnkronos. “It’s up to us to seize this opportunity and respond immediately to the challenge, transforming the water network into an efficient asset that supports the country’s growth through digital technology and expertise.”

“Today, finding a leak in the water network is like searching for a needle in a haystack. We work with acoustic detectors and headphones, checking one kilometer per day. So it can take years to find a leak in the almost 500,000 km network,” explains Massimiliano Evangelista, Head of Almaviva’s Ecological Transition, in an interview by the newspaper Domani.

A digital model of the network, infrastructure, and systems, designed by Almaviva to leverage Almawave’s proprietary Smart Water Management platform, is coming soon. It will help to safeguard up to 20% of water resources. But that’s not all. By the end of 2023, more than 14,000 kilometers of the country’s water network will be digitalized by Almaviva, thanks to the network’s digital twin and cutting-edge sensor and satellite technologies, resulting in additional energy savings of up to 0.4 kW/h and a reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 110 grams per cubic meter of water.

Within this scenario, Almaviva has signed contracts with water supply companies in Southern Italy - Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, and Sicily - specifically in those areas where intervention is most urgent because water loss is higher than the Italian average, exceeding 40%. This provides an excellent vantage point for understanding how digitalization can serve as a tool for increasing water resilience.

Massimiliano Evangelista will speak tomorrow at the 2023 Italian Water Tour in Palermo about Almaviva’s approach to integrated water service.