August 1, 2000 – August 1, 2025: A quarter century for EVI. 25 years of water service in Ischia.
Time passes, and we often don't notice. It's therefore somewhat surprising to note that a full twenty-five years have already passed since the existence of Energia Verde Idrica spa, commonly known as "EVI," the company that manages the integrated water cycle (i.e., aqueducts and sewerage systems) on the island of Ischia. Therefore, this August 1, 2025, EVI will mark a quarter of a century, having taken over management of the service on August 1, 2000.
A long period of time that, we must admit, has seen this long-established company endure difficult and controversial times. Moreover, the EVI joint-stock company (s.p.a.) was born from a transaction aligned with the water sector reforms that began with Law No. 36/1994, the so-called "Galli" Law, which revolutionized the sector with a view to improving the efficiency and rationalization of water resources, a necessity at the time (and still today) after years of municipal companies and cost-effective management practices throughout Italy.
Let's take a look at some history. Law no. 1450 of July 22, 1939, established the first EVI, the "Autonomous Body for the Development of the Island of Ischia." The EVI had legal personality and was responsible, among other things, for the public water supply and distribution of drinking water. It must be said, however, that its primary purpose was to promote the protection of the island's environment and tourism. On December 6, 1974, with Council Resolution no. 6759, the Campania Region appointed the EVI's liquidator. Some felt its demise was highly unfortunate, especially considering that the island of Ischia was and is an established tourist destination and that the EVI had performed admirably. According to others, however, it had revealed major deficiencies and had by now fulfilled its historical function, therefore needing to be replaced by new specialized entities, including first and foremost the so-called "Tourism Company", thus delegating the strict management of water services to other management entities.
Then, on January 17, 1975, with decree no. 48913 of the Prefect of Naples, the CAFI (Consorzio Acquedotto e Fognature dell'Isola d'Ischia) was established, tasked with managing the aqueduct and sewerage services of the municipalities on the island of Ischia. The CAFI thus replaced EVI as the water service provider. With an agreement dated March 6, 1997, the six mayors of the island of Ischia, members of the CAFI Assembly, pursuant to Article 60 of Law 142/90, proceeded to transform the Consortium, which thus became the current CISI (Consorzio Intercomunale Servizi Ischia).
Article 22 of Law 142/90, paragraph III, letter e, provided for the possibility of establishing a joint-stock company as a form of entrepreneurial management of local public services. Furthermore, Laws no. 498/92 and no. 95/95 granted joint-stock companies pursuant to Article 22 of Law 142/90 the power to construct and manage public works and infrastructure related to public services. Subsequent legislation expanded the scope and operational capabilities of service companies, in line with major contemporary economic, legislative, and administrative transformations. With Shareholders' Meeting Resolution no. 1 of January 20, 2000, the joint-stock company "Energia Verde ed Idrica" was established for the management of public services and the construction of public works and infrastructure related to those services.
"Energia Verde ed Idrica" spa (hereinafter EVI spa) is a company established on February 3, 2000, by the "Consorzio Intercomunale Servizi Ischia" (hereinafter CISI), which holds 80%, and the Municipality of Procida, which holds the remaining 20%. Its share capital amounted to €400,000. In 2008, the Municipality of Procida withdrew from the company, and EVI is now wholly owned by CISI. CISI, as a reminder, is a consortium comprising the six municipalities on the island of Ischia; therefore, EVI is a wholly publicly owned company. EVI spa is currently managed by a board of directors composed of representatives designated by the island's municipalities. The board is chaired by Dr. Mario Basentini.
Today, EVI manages the integrated water cycle, but in the future, it could also take on other local public services, with a view to enhancing the island of Ischia.
Since EVI's existence, service on the island of Ischia has made great strides.
Those aged fifty and older remember vividly when, in the summer, tankers docked in Ischia, Casamicciola, and Forio to provide at least a few hours of water a day. The island of Ischia lacks sources of spring water capable of meeting the significant demand due to the presence of residents and, during the tourist season, guests.
For this reason, the water distributed by the water network comes from the mainland and reaches the island through three underwater pipelines: two deliver to Ischia Ponte, and one to Lido. The pipelines all branch off from the Bacoli-Monterusciello areas. The first two lines, 300 mm in diameter and made of steel, were built in the 1950s by the much-missed Cassa per il Mezzogiorno (Cassa per il Mezzogiorno) and inaugurated in 1958: it was the first time, historically, that the "luxury" of running water arrived on the island of Ischia. The third, 600 mm in diameter, also made of steel, was built by the Campania Region and inaugurated in 1985.
Geographically, the water we use on Ischia comes partly from central Italy, in the Cassino area, and is transported via the Western Campania Aqueduct: a monumental undertaking completed in the 1980s. The rest comes from the Serino River in Campania. The typical problem of water distribution on the island of Ischia is twofold.
The first concerns the hilly nature of the territory, which entails the need to accumulate water in large capacity reservoirs, from which it is then re-launched
through electromechanical pumps and lifting stations, so as to reach even the most inaccessible areas.
The distribution network is made up of pipelines of various sizes, for a total length exceeding 450 kilometers. Since the EVI became operational, numerous new lines have been built, solving age-old problems in many areas of the island of Ischia, which are now served regularly, and replacing old, inefficient pipelines.
The second problem concerns the enormous difference in consumption between winter and the tourist season. This places unequal demands on the systems, resulting in a higher probability of failures and breakdowns. Generally speaking, the island of Ischia requires between 37,000 and 43,000 cubic meters of water per day in the summer. Below this threshold, we can speak of a water shortage crisis, or water emergency.
In winter, 26,000-30,000 cubic meters per day are sufficient. Most of the storage tanks in the Ischia area belong to the Campania Region. EVI owns only two, although they are large and crucial to service management.
The most recent was inaugurated on July 8, 2005, in the "Cava Ferrugine" area of Panza, in the municipality of Forio. It consists of a water reservoir in a tunnel and related supply pipes. The project was designed, managed, and built by EVI spa.
The reservoir, completely underground and invisible from the outside, consists of two tunnel tanks arranged almost perpendicular to each other, constructed of waterproofed reinforced concrete. Each is 76 meters and 80 centimeters long and has a diameter of 8 meters and 80 centimeters. The operating height of each tunnel is 4 meters and 95 centimeters, with a maximum accumulation height of 5 meters and 40 centimeters.
The total storage capacity is 7,000 cubic meters of water. The two tunnels are served by a 36.5-meter-long circular control chamber with a diameter equal to that of the tanks. Also within the municipality of Forio, the following were built to serve the project: – a 400-millimeter-diameter steel supply pipeline, approximately 2.5 kilometers long, running from the existing supply pipeline in Via Baiola to the booster station in Cuotto; – a 350-millimeter-diameter steel supply pipeline, 2.12 kilometers long, running from the booster station in Cuotto to the reservoir in the tunnel; – eleven sectioning shafts for the aforementioned pipelines, with gates, drains, and vents;
– two cast iron pipes with a diameter of 250 mm from the tank in the tunnel to the existing distribution network.
The Cava Ferrugine reservoir has increased water supply to the municipalities of Forio and Serrara Fontana, especially the hamlet of Panza and surrounding areas. This has greatly improved the functionality of the network and water supply, a traditional problem in these areas, which are also heavily touristic, especially during the summer months.
The new work has allowed, in case of emergencies, autonomy of the served areas for four days, compared to the current two hours.
In Ischia, however, there's the historic Montagnone Alto reservoir. It's entirely underground, with a capacity of 7,500 cubic meters of water, and is divided into two compartments. To give you an idea, it's like a four-story building, entirely filled with water and with virtually zero environmental impact, being located underground.
It feeds, through a system of main pipelines built in the two-year period 2000-2001, therefore when the current EVI was already operational, the entire north-western axis of the island of Ischia, crossing the municipalities of Ischia, Casamicciola Terme, Lacco Ameno and Forio.
EVI recently accepted the role of "implementing body" on behalf of the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Ischia Earthquake and Emergency, which is responsible for restoring the damage caused by the 2017 earthquake and the 2022 flood, also proceeding with landscaping and works to prevent further disasters and to protect the environment. The Ischia-based company is primarily responsible for the redevelopment, repurposing, and efficiency improvements of the sewerage system, carrying out numerous and complex interventions.
Since its founding in 2000, EVI spa has always sought to promote the use of tap water and the limitation or elimination of bottled mineral water. The only acceptable reason for preferring mineral water is its effervescence or taste.
Supported by the opinions of associations, companies, experts, and nephrologists, as well as health authorities, EVI has always maintained (in widespread company) that the water distributed by Italian aqueducts is of excellent physical and mineral quality, and is monitored and checked with extremely high frequency from a bacteriological and chemical standpoint, especially compared to the analyses performed on bottled mineral water sources. EVI SpA continuously performs analyses on the water it distributes (which, in turn, has already been analyzed at its source, along the route, and at the starting point of the underwater pipelines), sampling it from various points in the area served, with particular attention to schools, drinking fountains, the hospital, and the reservoirs it directly manages.
The parameters analyzed, as required by law, are numerous and all are met. The data, continuously updated, is available on the company website. Another goal of EVI has always been water conservation. Over the past quarter century, countless communication initiatives have been launched by the Ischia aqueduct headquarters, aimed at encouraging the conscious and economical use of the resource, including explaining how users can detect a water leak.
Over the past twenty-five years, EVI spa's water rates have changed several times, but they have always remained in line with regulatory requirements. Today, the matter is regulated by ARERA, the Italian Authority for Water, Gas, Electricity, and Waste Management.
EVI is subject to the Authority's meticulous requirements for everything relating to its activities and relationships with users.
EVI provides its services aimed at meeting the essential needs of users, in compliance with the principles of equality, impartiality, continuity, participation, efficiency, and effectiveness. EVI is committed to providing the service appropriately, pursuing the goal of progressively and continuously improving effectiveness and efficiency, adopting the most appropriate technological, organizational, and procedural solutions.
EVI's primary commitment is to ensure continuous and regular service and avoid any disruptions. Should disruptions occur due to breakdowns or maintenance required for the proper functioning of the systems used, EVI is committed to taking all measures to minimize inconvenience to residents.
The provision of public services by EVI is based on the principle of user equality, in compliance with current provision regulations. Equal treatment is guaranteed, subject to the same technical requirements, within homogeneous geographic areas and user categories or groups. Particular attention is paid, both in direct and indirect contact at the service desk, to persons with disabilities, the elderly, and citizens belonging to disadvantaged social groups.
In its dealings with users, criteria of objectivity, neutrality, and impartiality are adopted. EVI strives to base its interactions with users on principles of kindness and courtesy. Particular attention is paid to customer relations, promoting clarity and comprehensibility in communication.
EVI's work is constantly focused on protecting the environment, especially regarding the efficiency and functionality of the sewer system. All technologies and methods used are designed to respect the ecosystem.
Special report produced by the EVI SPA Press Office
Il Dispari
