About half of the Italian adult population, 47.3%, declare that they always or almost always drink tap water, at home and outside the home.
During the pandemic period, 13.5% started drinking tap water more often, and during 2020 the occasional consumers of this water increased significantly (+ 6.5%), which today are the 35.4%.
This was revealed by a study by Open Mind Research commissioned by Aqua Italia, the trade association of water treatment companies.
82.7% of the Italian population has drunk tap water (treated and untreated) in the last 12 months, with a 2020 growth rate of over 5%. 25.2% drink this water rarely or never. The greater presence of those who drink tap water is confirmed, always or almost always among the residents in the North West (49.4%) and North East (57.1%). There is a lower incidence among those who live in the South and Sicily (40.9%): here the percentage of those who rarely or never drink tap water (29.5%) is higher than the average.
The main reasons why respondents said they drink tap water (treated or untreated) mainly concern "care for the environment" (27%), ie avoiding transporting and disposing of plastic bottles, given significantly more relevant than in previous years (it was 12.3% in 2018). Then there is the "convenience in having it" (25.1%), the awareness that "the municipal aqueduct does more controls on water than bottled water producers" (23.4%), the "minor cost compared to bottled water "(21.3%) and finally" I drink it because it is good "(20.2%).
