Italy's waters degrade due to poor sewage treatment, climate change: report

Italy's coastal and lake waters are facing severe degradation due to inadequate wastewater treatment and the escalating impacts of climate change, according to a new report by Legambiente, the country's leading environmental association. The "Goletta Verde" and "Goletta dei Laghi 2026" inspection campaigns revealed that 34% of 391 water samples across 19 regions surpassed legal contamination limits.

The pollution is particularly critical at points where rivers and streams discharge into the sea and lakes. The study found 54% of 188 such outlets were contaminated or heavily contaminated. Lake basins have registered their worst quality levels since 2020. Notorious pollution sites include the Musone river mouth in the Marche region, Aci Trezza in Sicily, and the Sabaudia lake in Lazio, which showed heavily contaminated levels in all its samples.

Legambiente attributes this "structural problem" to poor wastewater treatment, highlighting that 514 urban areas still discharge untreated water, leading to four ongoing infringement procedures with the European Union. "Italy continues to pay tens of millions of euros in fines to Europe every six months for non-compliance with the European directive on wastewater treatment in municipalities where 14 million inhabitants equivalent live," stated Legambiente national president Stefano Ciafani. He suggested these public funds could be better used to build new sewage and treatment systems.

The environmental crisis is compounded by climate change, which is raising Mediterranean surface temperatures and causing severe drought in inland lakes. For instance, Lake Iseo in northern Italy lost over 79% of its stored volume between June and July, while Lakes Maggiore and Como experienced 76% losses. Legambiente is calling on the Italian government to allocate public funds for new treatment plants and approve a national plan to make all Italian rivers suitable for swimming, drawing inspiration from Paris's efforts for the 2024 Olympic Games.

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Italy continues to pay tens of millions of euros in fines to Europe every six months for non-compliance with the European directive on wastewater treatment in municipalities where 14 million inhabitants equivalent live.