A measure of the potential pollutant load of urban wastewater

Abstract

Water resource management is a crucial process for ensuring sustainable development and the achievement of the goals set by the 2030 Agenda. Preserving the integrity of ecosystems dependent on the water cycle over time is essential for achieving and maintaining collective, economic, and social well-being. As part of this context, this work aims to quantify the potential pollutant load of urban wastewater, generated at the municipal level and analyzing its distribution in the national territory. The tool adopted to achieve this goal is the estimation of Total Urban Equivalent Inhabitants (TUEI), a quantity that takes into account not only the resident population but also other categories of individuals contributing to the production of biodegradable pollutant loads, such as the tourism sector, commuter flows, industrial activities, accommodation, and catering establishments. The main contribution of the analysis is therefore to define the need for urban wastewater treatment from various pollution-generating sources, meeting the current needs of the Regions and the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security responding to European Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The estimation was produced for the year 2021, integrating information from multiple sources. Furthermore, different levels of territorial aggregation were considered. In particular, estimates in the domains of interest (municipal, provincial, regional) are obtained from data related to census sections. With this methodology, attempts were made to introduce elements useful for measuring TUEI and improving the assessment of pollutant loads, a complex topic that still presents critical elements in the availability and usability of sources and deserves further investigation.