A third of water samples taken across Italy's lakes and coastlines exceeded legal pollution limits in 2026, marking the worst lake contamination recorded in seven years of monitoring, according to environmental group Legambiente. Of 391 samples collected across 19 regions, 34% breached statutory thresholds, while more than half of 188 tested river mouths were classified as polluted or heavily polluted.
Hotspots identified by Legambiente's Goletta Verde and Goletta dei Laghi campaigns included the Musone river mouth in Marche, the coast at Aci Trezza in Sicily, and Lake Sabaudia in Lazio, where all three samples were heavily contaminated. At 70% of monitored river mouths, no signs warning against bathing were posted despite failing water quality.
The findings underscore chronic sewage treatment failures: 514 urban areas serving over 14 million people discharge wastewater non-compliantly, according to July 2026 environment ministry data. Four EU infringement procedures are open against Italy over urban wastewater rules, with the first two already costing over 200 million euros. Compliance with the updated 2024 EU wastewater directive is estimated to cost between 645 million and 1.5 billion euros for major treatment plants alone.