Tap water consumption is on the rise: one in two Italians drinks it regularly
This is revealed by Aqua Italia’s annual survey. The propensity is highest in the North-East, whilst the South lags behind
Key points
One in two Italians drinks tap water on a regular basis. Consumption is on the rise, according to a survey 2026 survey by Aqua Italia (the association of primary water treatment manufacturers, affiliated with Anima Confindustria), which focuses on the propensity of Italians to consume tap water.
The research findings confirm a well-established trend: drinking tap water is now a habit practised by the vast majority of Italians. More than eight out of ten Italians (83.4%) say they have drunk it, whether treated or untreated, over the last twelve months; of these, 60% say they drink it regularly, ‘always’ or ‘almost always’.
Consumption trends
The historical trend of these figures helps to explain them even better. The survey, conducted by Personalive on a diverse sample of 2,008 respondents, is in fact part of a biennial survey: in 2016, the proportion of those who had drunk tap water stood at 71.8 per cent – compared with the current 83.4 per cent – whilst regular consumption, calculated across the entire sample, rose from 43.9 to 49.8 per cent.
The consumption map
Across the country, these figures reveal a patchy distribution. The North-East and Emilia-Romagna remain the regions most open to tap water: regular consumption amongst those who drink it rises to 70.4 per cent, whilst the perception of safety reaches 45.4 per cent. At the other end of the scale, the South and Sicily present a much more cautious picture: regular consumption stands at 54.5%, perception of safety at 25.9% (ten points below the average). In the North-West, consumption and confidence are on the rise, with a reduction in the proportion of respondents who never drink tap water (-2.7%) compared with 2024; in the Central region and Sardinia, consumption remains stable compared with the last survey.
The reasons
Behind this choice lie increasingly complex and closely interlinked reasons. Convenience remains the primary factor (31.0%), followed very closely by financial savings (28.6%) and, increasingly, by environmental concerns (28.4%): this latter reason, which accounted for just 11.3% of preferences in 2016, has more than doubled in importance over the past decade. This is followed by the perceived higher quality controls (23.3%) and taste (20.4%).
