Water crisis, Italy is the first country in Europe for drinking water withdrawals: Sicily is the most affected by service disruptions.

In 2024, in Italy 8.87 billion cubic meters of water were extracted for drinking purposes, the lowest level in the last 25 years and 3.0% less than in 2022. However, our country has confirmed for over twenty years that it extracts more freshwater for drinking use in the EU, significantly surpassing France and Germany. This record is accompanied by a strong reliance on groundwater. Even in per capita terms, Italy, with 150 cubic meters per year per inhabitant, is among the top in Europe and second only to Ireland. This is stated by Istat in a focus released on the occasion of World Water Day, established by the United Nations in 1992 and celebrated every March 22.

In 2024, the residents affected by water supply rationing measures in provincial capitals/metropolitan cities are over one million (5.8% of the population), an increase from 760,000 the previous year (4.3% in 2023), and the municipalities involved rise from 14 to 17. The critical issues mainly concern the Mezzogiorno and, in particular, Sicily.

In 2025, 2.7 million families report having experienced irregularities in the water supply service in their homes: they represent 10.2% of families, +1.5 percentage points compared to 2024.

Also in 2025, three out of 10 families do not trust drinking tap water, but this figure rises to over half in Sicily (57.6%) and Sardinia (52.1%).

In 2023, nearly 19 million cubic meters of natural mineral waters were extracted for production purposes (+0.2% compared to 2022), with over half from the North (53.7%) and 22.9% from the South.