InnWater Project

Parco Fiume Brenta is among the five pilot sites of InnWater, the European project to foster governance and sustainability of water systems.

Funding: 2,8 mln € (0,5 mln € for the Brenta)
Timing: 2023-2026

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Water crises are, more than anything else, crises of governance. As our most precious resource becomes scarce due to overexploitation and a changing climate, favoring extreme events such as droughts and floods, rules, agreements and cooperation among water management stakeholders become more critical than ever.

InnWater (full name “Promoting social INNovation to renew multi-level and cross-sector WATER governance”) aims to develop methodological, technological and participatory tools to improve governance frameworks for the drinking water sector in Europe, starting with five pilot areas across the continent. The project consists of a consortium of drinking water stakeholders such as regulators, municipalities, basin authorities, universities and research centers specializing in water governance and management. The 3-year project started on March 1, 2023 and is part of the Horizon Europe program for research and innovation, funded by the European Commission.

InnWater and Parco Fiume Brenta

Parco Fiume Brenta is among the five European pilot sites of InnWater along with France, UK, Spain and Hungary. The project aims to develop the results obtained from the LIFE Brenta 2030 project toward a practical methodology for “diagnosing” the state of governance in the drinking water sector based on the OECD Water Governance Principles and other relevant governance frameworks.
The process will be led by Etifor and will see the central role of the Consiglio di Bacino Brenta with the following ambitions:

• Promote integrated water and biodiversity governance through an innovative and participatory management and consultation committee.
• Inform households and water users about the significance of environmental and resource costs (ERCs) and quantify their use. Read more about ERCs here
• Apply ERC costs in the drinking water tariff and explore the possibility of declining the polluter/user pays principle in other water sectors (e.g., agriculture).
• Develop/improve a smartphone app aimed at households to promote water-saving behaviors, raise awareness of biodiversity conservation, provide information on water quality and quantity protection, and related water prices (ERCs).

The expected impacts of InnWater include policy recommendations to align the drinking water sector with the European Green Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals.