Derogation from drinking water quality standards in Italy according to the European Directive 98/83/EC and the Legislative Decree 31/2001 - a look at the recent past

Abstract

Background: Until 2012, the European Directive 98/83/EC and the Italian Legislative Decree 31/2001 allowed derogation from the drinking water quality standards in Italy with a number of requests higher than any other European country. The present work aims to assess the extent of the derogation granted in Italy, in particular by noting those issued from 2001 to 2012, in order to obtain a retrospective quality indicator, useful for evaluating the risk arising from population exposure.

Methods: The most significant factors leading to derogation were analyzed. We first carried out an in-depth analysis of the European, national and regional legislation and subsequently distributed the obtained data according to: parameters regarding derogation; length of the derogation; area involved; and maximum parameter value granted by the derogation acts.

Results: We found approximately 100 derogation acts, granted in 14 Regions and concerning 19, mostly chemical, parameters. The most frequently granted derogation, in 12 Regions, was due to the presence of arsenic. Furthermore, given its 10-year presence in Campania and Lazio, fluoride was the most widespread parameter in the Italian territory. The year 2006 had the largest number of derogations issued with 22 acts found: this decreased to one during the third three-year derogation granted in 2012.

Conclusions: Data collected showed how often Italy applied for drinking water quality derogation in recent years, going so far as to request a third three-year derogation. While this phenomenon has highlighted a practice largely ignored by the public, derogation acts have often involved the same parameters, underlining how difficult it can be to comply with the standards in a timely manner.

Keywords: Derogation; Drinking water; Water quality.