Preparing Water for the Future
INTERVIEW WITH Andrea Ponta, General Manager
Water infrastructure rarely attracts much attention when it works well. Yet across Europe, utilities are under growing pressure from climate change, aging networks, rising investment needs and tighter expectations around efficiency and sustainability. Especially in rural and geographically complex regions, en suring reliable water services has become a demanding long-term task. In this environment, Azienda Cuneese Dell’Acqua S.p.A. in Cuneo, Italy, stands out for its strong regional roots, its public-service mission and its increasingly focused investment in digital tools. In doing so, it is helping to secure essential water services for the long term.
European Business: Mr. Ponta, can you begin by giving us an overview of Azienda Cuneese Dell’Acqua S.p.A. and its development over the years?
Andrea Ponta: ACDA was founded in the 1990s, building on water service activities previously handled by the municipality of Cuneo and a few other municipalities. As the regulatory framework in Italy evolved, more and more municipalities transferred responsibility for water supply, sewerage and wastewater treatment to the company. That is how ACDA gradually grew into what it is today. We now serve 108 municipalities in the Province of Cuneo. We are a joint-stock company under private law, but our ownership is entirely public, because our shareholders are exclusively the municipalities we serve. What makes our work special is also the territory itself. We operate in a very varied area between the Maritime Alps and the plains, serving everything from very small mountain communities to the provincial capital of Cuneo.
European Business: What does that mean in practical terms for your day-to-day business?
Andrea Ponta: It means that our work is deeply rooted in the territory. Water cannot be managed from a distance. You need people, technical capabilities and structures on the ground. At the same time, we are subject to public procurement rules, even though we are organized under private law. For larger technical measures and investments, we therefore work through tenders and framework agreements with external contractors. Our internal teams focus mainly on ordinary maintenance, emergency intervention, leak repairs and operational control of the networks and treatment facilities. So we combine in-house operational expertise with external support for larger and more complex projects.
European Business: Sustain ability is a key topic everywhere today. What does it mean in your business?
Andrea Ponta: Sustainability has several dimensions for us. The first is the resource itself. Water can no longer be taken for granted, even in our area. The drought of 2022 made that very clear. A major priority is therefore to reduce water losses in the network and promote more conscious water use. The second dimension is economic sustainability. Our business is financed through tariffs and bills, so we have a responsibility to use resources carefully. That is why we have introduced a strong management control system to monitor costs and ensure efficiency. A third dimension is innovation. We are testing systems in mountain areas that can collect humidity from the air and make drinking water available during drought periods.
European Business: You have mentioned digitalization several times. Why is it becoming so important in the water sector?
Andrea Ponta: Because it helps us invest in a much more targeted way. One of the major structural challenges in our area is low population density. We have a very large territory, many networks and plants spread across it, but comparatively few users per square kilometer. That means limited financial resources for a very extensive infrastructure base. Since many plants and pipelines are old, we cannot simply replace everything at once. We have to act intelligently. This is where digitalization becomes essential. Thanks in part to PNRR funding, we have been able to develop systems for district metering, leak detection and digital twin applica tions. These tools help us identify critical points in the network and prioritize investments much more precisely.
European Business: What are the biggest challenges and goals for the years ahead?
Andrea Ponta: The central chal lenge is to reconcile two needs that seem to point in opposite directions. On the one hand, water service must remain physically present in the territory. You can not provide it online. You need local roots, local response and local knowledge. On the other hand, operators need to become larger and stronger, because scale is necessary for financial capacity, innovation and the ability to build efficient systems. So the key issue for the future is aggregation: working together more closely, creating stronger structures and possibly pursuing mergers, while still preserving local identity and local presence.
European Business: Finally, what defines Azienda Cuneese Dell’Acqua S.p.A. today?
Andrea Ponta: I would say three things: responsibility, territorial presence and the willingness to modernize. We are managing an essential public service in a demanding geographic environment. That requires operational discipline, financial responsibility and a clear investment logic. At the same time, we want to remain close to the communities we serve. We are convinced that digitalization, sustainability and intelligent aggregation are the right path forward. Water will remain one of the defining issues of the future, and we want to play our part with seriousness and a long-term view.