skyline of the city of Milan
Abstraction

The water is abstracted from the aquifer via the wells, which are connected to the 29 pumping stations.

Each station operates through 12 - 24 wells of a total of 587 in Milan, about 400 of which operate simultaneously. The number of wells activated varies according to the demand for water, which depends on the time of day and the season.

Use of groundwater offers several advantages, for example:

  • it is purified naturally by filtration through the permeable layers of the ground (it often already possesses the physicochemical properties of drinking water);
  • it has greater protection against accidental contamination (and, if contamination does occur, it can be located promptly and there is more time to take appropriate measures due to its slow flow);
  • it remains virtually unaltered during periods of drought.

The aquifers of Milan - IT only