FROM PNRR TO PREDICTIVE MANAGEMENT:
DIGITALIZATION
OF THE WATER NETWORK
Smart water network management is now a strategic lever to reduce losses and improve service efficiency. In Molise, GRIM and Aquanexa are implementing one of the most significant PNRR projects for advanced monitoring and data-driven management of the regional water network.
INNOVATING THE WATER NETWORK TO REDUCE LOSSES
Extreme climate events have become more frequent
Water stress is affecting increasing portions of Italian territory
Water infrastructures must address structural losses and inefficiencies
Italy is among the European countries most exposed to severe drought:
for this reason, the PNRR focuses on network digitalization and loss reduction.
THE GRIM MOLISE & AQUANEXA PROJECT
Digitalization, district metering, and smart metering for predictive management of the regional water network.
“Reducing losses, optimizing energy consumption, and monitoring over 200,000 users means radically changing the way water services are managed. Aquanexa brought method and a systemic vision, transforming an infrastructure project into a true managerial evolution, where data drives operational decisions.”
Massimo Saluppo
President GRIM Molise
THE CLIENT
GRIM – Gestione Risorse Idriche Molisane – is the sole operator of the Integrated Water Service of the Molise Region. Established in 2022 and owned by municipalities of the regional ATO and Molise Acque, the company manages water supply, sewerage, and treatment across a large and complex infrastructure system.
The service covers 136 municipalities, 214,000 users and over 4,100 km of network, with 216 sources and hundreds of water facilities across the territory. An extensive and partially aging network, characterized by high levels of losses in some areas.
THE PROBLEM
The regional water network in Molise showed significant structural and operational criticalities. Among the main issues: widespread losses not fully quantified, non-uniform monitoring of flows and pressures, lack of systemic districting, non-centralized control systems, absence of large-scale smart metering. In some areas, losses exceeded 50% of the water injected into the network.
THE RISK
Without a structured intervention, the operator would remain exposed to several operational and economic risks:
• unmonitored and hard-to-quantify water losses
• difficulty in developing reliable water balances
• high energy costs linked to network inefficiencies
• management based on emergencies rather than data analysis
• waste of water resources in a water-stressed territory.
THE NEED
GRIM needed an intervention capable of transforming the water network management model, moving from a reactive approach to a data-driven one:
• design and implement districting across more than 3,400 km of network
• deploy a widespread network of sensors and dataloggers
• introduce large-scale smart metering systems
• centralize control on a single platform
• integrate technical data with management and billing systems.
AQUANEXA’S INTERVENTION
An integrated ecosystem of engineering,
sensor technologies and digital platforms for intelligent water network management.
“Intervening on an extensive and partially aging network requires deep knowledge of the local infrastructure context. The collaboration between technological expertise and local presence was crucial to meeting timelines and objectives.”
Project representative di ATENA S.r.l.
PROJECT GOVERNANCE
AND EXPERTISE
The complexity of the project lies in its highly integrated nature: from network surveying and modeling to sensor systems, from smart metering to communication infrastructures, up to centralized control platforms. In this context, Aquanexa – through Idea, Datek22 and GEST IOT – acted as system integrator, coordinating activities and ensuring integration between technologies, infrastructures and management systems.
The team’s contribution covered the entire value chain:
• supply and implementation of smart meters and field instrumentation
• surveying and modeling of water networks
• development of the integrated meter management system (SAC)
• development of the SCADA system for the central control room (IDEA technology)
• coordination of the consortium and client relationship management.
One of the most critical aspects was coordinating multiple stakeholders and interdependent workstreams within the strict timelines of the PNRR. Aquanexa’s expertise in developing SCADA platforms at regional scale enabled the integration of heterogeneous systems into a single architecture, already operational and ready for interaction with third parties.
THE PROJECT
Launched in 2024, the project was developed within the strict timelines of the PNRR, requiring rigorous planning, continuous monitoring and responsiveness to ministerial oversight activities.
Activities were organized into coordinated streams – engineering, hydraulic modeling, telecommunications, measurement systems and smart metering – with central coordination entrusted to Idea for Aquanexa, together with ATENA S.r.l. as local operational partner, supported by a shared digital platform ensuring continuous information flows.
The intervention led to the creation of a regional-scale monitoring and control infrastructure:
• surveying and modeling of nearly 4,000 km of network
• over 1,000 dataloggers and more than 3,000 sensors installed
• LPWAN communication network and inter-municipal wireless backbone
• integration of data into a central platform.
A key element was the large-scale deployment of next-generation smart meters, installed and connected in more than 90 municipalities, enabling continuous consumption monitoring and strengthening the relationship between the operator and users.
The intervention – over 125,000 smart meters installed and one of the most advanced control systems at national level – is now a benchmark for water service digitalization.
RESULTS
Up to
Up to
users continuous monitoring
availability of hourly data for accurate water balances.
The project enabled the transition from reactive to predictive, data-driven management.
WHAT MADE
THE DIFFERENCE
The value of the project lies not only in the number of devices installed, but in the ability to integrate physical infrastructure, digital platforms and management processes.
Key elements include:
Integrated ecosystem combining engineering and control systems
Open and scalable digital platform
Integration between SCADA, GIS, management and billing systems
Infrastructure ready for Smart City and energy management developments.
SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS
“True transformation does not happen with the installation of devices, but when data enters operational processes. Our role was to connect technology and management, ensuring that the information generated by the system becomes a concrete tool for planning, maintenance and control.”
Carmelo Puglia
CEO GEST IoT
ENABLING SERVICES
Within the project, the technical and operational approach was made possible by a series of enabling services along the value chain, allowing the collection of reliable data, in-depth analysis and accurate diagnostics of the network status.
NETWORK
ENGINEERING
DATA MEASURING
& IOT
DIGITAL
PLATFORMS
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
The value chain can evolve through action-oriented services, a natural extension of enabling activities, transforming collected data into concrete field interventions and decision-making tools for proactive network management.
DATA MEASURING
& IOT
NETWORK
ENGINEERING
DIGITAL
PLATFORMS
“The challenge was twofold: meeting PNRR targets while creating an open, scalable platform ready for the future evolution of the Molise water service. We designed not only for today, but for the next 15–20 years.“
Pasquale Talento
CEO IDEA
PARTNERS INVOLVED
DO YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE?
DO YOU HAVE A NETWORK TO ANALYZE, MANAGE OR IMPROVE?
This intervention is just one example. Every network is different, but the method is replicable.
Discover how an integrated and scalable approach can make a difference in your operational context. Fill out the form below and an Aquanexa expert will contact you.