Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

The presentation on the occasion of World Water Day. Grandi: "Initiative that enhances the quality of city water that can now be consumed everywhere, conveniently and at zero km" - Photo gallery

Milan, March 22 2022 – The water of Milan, healthy, good and controlled, now also becomes "à porter", convenient and sustainable, to be consumed everywhere. Today in the spaces of via Castrovillari 20, on the occasion of World Water Day, the Councilor for the Environment and Green Elena Grandi, with the President of MM Simone Dragone and the General Director of MM Stefano Cetti, illustrated to the press the Drinking water filling system in fully recyclable and eco-sustainably produced polylaminate cardboard (brick) packaging. The presentation also saw the participation of the President of Milano Ristorazione Bernardo Notarangelo and the Amat councilor Gloria Zavatta.

"An initiative – explains councilor Grandi – which arises from the common intention of the Administration and MM to raise awareness of operators, tourists and private citizens about
consumption of drinking water from the tap. An invitation to make a conscious choice towards a quality, constantly monitored, eco-friendly resource. Using water in cardboard bricks rather than in plastic bottles is an important gesture and today more necessary than ever: water from the aqueduct is used, and therefore 'zero kilometre', and at the same time the consumption of single-use plastic is reduced and therefore the production of plastic waste related to packaging and CO₂ produced by transportation".

"With this project we take another small step, as part of our commitment to the city, to the environmental transition – declared the President of MM Simone Dragone –. It is the Mayor's water, the one that comes out of the tap at home, which comes out of the 650 fountains, which flows from the 53 water houses and which, from today, is also canned so that it can be distributed to everyone through multiple channels. Ensuring excellent water is a constant commitment but for us at MM it also represents a privilege, having as its main objectives the valorisation of mains water, encouraging the use of drinking water and therefore the reduction of pollution. In Milan we are lucky, and perhaps even good, we have losses of less than 15% compared to a national average equal to approximately 45%, we distribute and purify over 200 million m³, and we return over 50 million of them to the environment for agricultural use. But we are aware that we must and can always do better, for ourselves and above all for future generations. And I also say this on behalf of the women and men who every day guarantee Milan super-controlled, good, zero kilometer water, one of the best in Europe and, probably, the least expensive."

For the moment, the water packaged by MM will be destined for the Civil Protection for distribution to citizens in the event of a fault or localized interruption of the service and, if requested, it can be distributed during particular events in the Milan area such as 'weeks', concerts, cultural and sporting events as well as being used for the internal needs of the offices of the Municipality of Milan and its subsidiaries.
The layout of the cardboard packaging also has the advantage of being completely customizable depending on the initiative or end user. The packaging plant in via Castrovillari has a capacity of 2.000 cartons/hour and can produce 500 or 250 ml packs. The first package, agreed with the Municipality of Milan, will be called "The Mayor's water" and will have the red and white colors of the city.

MM's activity ensures the management of the Integrated Water Service of the city of Milan, serving an area of ​​approximately 180 km² with a population of around 2 million people, including residents and city users, for over 50 thousand users, and taking care of all the phases of the process: from the withdrawal of water from the aquifer to the purification and distribution in homes, from the collection and treatment of water waste until it is returned to the environment, not to mention customer management throughout the entire service provision process.

Milan's water is constantly monitored according to a sampling program shared with the Health Protection Agency (ATS) and is never wasted: in fact today the city's water losses stand at around 14% and are constantly decreasing against the Italian annual average which is 45%. The average value of the fixed residue of Milan's water varies, between the different areas, from 200 to 450 mg/l, which allows the city's water to be classified as "oligomineral", therefore ideal for everyone's health.