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The new generation fountain, installed to mark World Water Day, celebrated on 22 March, also allows users to charge mobile phones and tablets

To mark “World Water Day”, celebrated on Monday 22 March, Acea has installed its 96th Water House at Palazzo del Quirinale. The initiative, part of a project that started in Rome in 2013 and which aims to encourage the responsible use of water as well as reduce the use of disposable plastic, is testament to the concrete strategy implemented daily by Acea across the territories in which it operates as water service provider.

Water houses, with their distinguished dark green silhouettes, represent the hi-tech evolution of the old fountains, provide free still and sparkling water, and are now part of the street furniture of the Capital and the municipalities that host them. They are located in public spaces accessible to citizens, near underground stations, tourist attractions, and points of high symbolic value, such as the Colosseum and Castelporziano Presidential Estate.

The 95 water houses already installed, 26 across Rome and 69 in the Municipalities within its province and metropolitan area, have USB ports that allow users to charge tablets and mobile phones, as well as a screen showing information issued by the water provider and the local administration. The water comes from the same aqueducts and is certified following rigorous, regular tests carried out by Acea and the relevant local health agencies (ASL). The dispensers, which have a capacity of 180 liters per hour, allow users to fill a one-liter bottle in 20 seconds. Since the first one was installed, water houses have provided 96,800,000 liters of water, equivalent to reducing the production of 1.5 l plastic bottles by one million kilos and reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 3,873 tons.

The Water Houses project is yet another clear step towards meeting the needs of local communities, promoting the responsible use of water, and reducing the use of disposable plastic. With approximately nine million customers, Acea Group, the leading water service provider in Italy, has always been sensitive to a responsible use of water and has implemented a detailed urban sustainability strategy, of which the Water Houses are a concrete example very much appreciated by the community.