Smart Water Management for Municipalities: cut losses and hit your ARERA/PNRR targets

For a municipality or a water utility, network losses are not just an environmental issue: they are water that has been paid for, lifted and energy-intensively pumped, yet never reaches the citizen. With the ARERA targets on reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW) and the dedicated PNRR funds, acting can no longer be postponed — but it takes a data-driven method, not an emergency-driven one.

NRW targets: what ARERA and PNRR require

Regulation is pushing utilities toward a structural reduction in losses, rewarding those who measure and plan ahead. The PNRR has allocated significant resources specifically to cut leakage in drinking-water distribution networks. In plain terms: whoever shows up with a measurable, documented project has the advantage, both on the targets and on access to funding.

From survey to GIS: the digital twin of the network

The first step is not to dig: it is to know where the network is and how it behaves. We digitize the network into georeferenced files (KML/GIS) with the location of pipes, valves and nodes, cross-referencing flow and pressure with field surveys (thermography, correlators, geophones, georadar). The result is a digital twin of the network: the foundation on which to base decisions.

Prioritizing interventions with data

Not all leaks are equal. With a georeferenced anomaly catalog (coordinates, severity, photos) you decide where to dig first and why, focusing resources where the return is greatest. Crews arrive on target, with no wasted excavations.

Wasted energy: a hidden cost

Without monitoring, you pay up to 40% of the pumping energy for water that never reaches the tap. Reducing losses also means cutting the utility's electricity bill — a saving that often pays for the intervention itself.

The service model

A typical three-stage path:

• Initial survey — thermographic/georadar diagnostics and GIS digitization of one or more pilot stretches.
• Monitoring — repeatable surveys over time to compare network states and catch emerging anomalies.
• Software subscription — a WebGIS dashboard with an anomaly catalog, intervention history and KPIs for tenders, acceptance testing and certifications.

How to get started: the pilot project

The fastest way to prove the value is to start from a few municipalities or a single stretch, as we did in the CONSAC case study covering more than 50 municipalities in the Salerno area. A pilot produces concrete numbers — accuracy, leaks identified, estimated savings — useful both for the internal decision and for reporting on the funds.