Abstract
There is increasingly more evidence showing that domestic water consumption is decreasing in many urban areas of the developed world. A large and heterogeneous set of factors may explain this decrease, ranging from structural phenomena, such as changes in the composition of urban populations or in the economic basis of cities to the implementation of more conscious policies such as technological improvements; citizen awareness or higher water prices and taxes. In this paper we examine the drop in water consumption for the ten largest Italian cities. The Italian water sector is characterized by a highly fragmented governance structure that results in a significantly inefficient distribution network, which might be highly exposed to the effects of climate change. However, there is strong opposition to privatization. In the paper we document the drop in water consumption in the largest Italian cities showing demographic (aging), social (migration) and economic (income) factors at the same time. Although it is unlikely that one single reason can explain the declining trend, our conclusion points to a combination of structural factors and specific policies that seem to be more intense in the Northern and Central cities than in the Southern cities.
Highlights
Water continues to be one of the main issues of concern for the future of humankind
Our methodology has consisted in a literature review on factors behind the decline in water consumption in cities and a compilation and basic treatment of data for the 10 Italia cities considered in the paper
Occupies a significant place among the European countries with high water consumption per capita
Summary
Water continues to be one of the main (if not the main) issues of concern for the future of humankind. According to the World Bank, available water resources per capita at the global scale fell from 13,395 m3 in 1962 to slightly below 6,000 m3 in 2014 and are expected to decline to 4,800 m3 in 2025 (World Bank, 2015). This global trend hides significant inequalities in availability and access to this precious resource. Water-related mortality, especially among children, continues to be a major issue of concern in many developing countries
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