Effects of the COVID-19 Lockdown on Water Consumptions: Northern Italy Case Study

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic induced many countries, including Italy, to implement social distancing measures and to suspend the majority of educational and working activities, which significantly impacted peoples’ lifestyles. To support water utilities in understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on water consumption and improving water distribution system resilience, the effects of the lockdown were investigated with reference to a residential district metered area (DMA) in the city of Rovigo (northern Italy), in which smart monitoring of water consumption at the level of individual users started in 2019. The water consumption recorded during the lockdown period was analyzed at different levels of temporal and spatial aggregation and compared with the consumption recorded in the same period of the previous year. The results show that, during the lockdown period, the overall water consumption in this mainly residential area increased by 18%. Moreover, water consumption was observed to be more spread out over the day, with a decrease (and a delay) in peak morning consumption, which was particularly evident on weekdays.