National water footprint: toward a comprehensive approach for the evaluation of the sustainability of water use in Italy

The aim of this study is to monitor the water use over the national territory and to correlate virtual water flows to economic activities and regional boundaries. Geo-referenced maps containing the annual average volume of available, consumed, and polluted water for different economic activities are produced and elaborated with geographic information system (GIS) software. Different administrative and geographic boundaries (regional, river basin, and hydrogeological complex) are used to produce statistical analyses to assess the level of sustainability in water use over the Italian territory. Water footprint indicators are setup for the blue, grey, and green components. The effective impact on the water resource is assessed in terms of water scarcity (i.e. the ratio between water consumption and water availability) for each component. Water availability data refer to annual average computed between 1990-2010. Water consumption and land cover refer to reference year 2006. Results are used to establish a baseline of the national water use that is expected to be particularly relevant for next-coming analyses, including virtual water flows associated to import/export activities and trending reports for future periods.