For some years now, Italy has embarked on a path of renewal, particularly regarding the integrated management of the water cycle.

As far back as 1997, the Extraordinary Plan for Collection and Purification, issued at the suggestion of the Ministry of the Environment, promoted the introduction of the best available techniques and greater attention to the issues of environmental integration of the interventions.

From this perspective, Legislative Decree No. 152/99 and Legislative Decree No. 185/03, with subsequent additions, mark a turning point. Among the objectives of the Decree is the use, where possible, of natural purification techniques, such as Phytoremediation and lagooning.

Phytoremediation treatments also comply with European regulations for the discharge of purified water into surface water bodies, onto soil, and for agricultural, industrial, and civil reuse.

They offer the possibility of reusing the water for garden irrigation or as non-potable water for other domestic uses. Finally, a phytoremediation plant not only significantly reduces energy and technological consumption and does not require specialized labor for maintenance, but also offers a pleasant aesthetic appearance.

The specific conformation of the Italian territory—alongside the large cities—favors the rise of numerous urban centers, often located far apart and with low population density (ranging from about 2,000 to 10,000 inhabitants). Given this situation, especially in Southern Italy (Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Puglia, Sicily, and Sardinia) and on small Italian islands, where the issue of pollution caused by civil discharges is always at the forefront, phytoremediation appears to be the best solution.

Because of their characteristics, phytoremediation plants have a low environmental impact and very low maintenance costs, making them preferable to traditional activated sludge plants. This is due to the fact that each system is built near the town it is designed to serve. This primarily avoids two drawbacks:

1. The construction of kilometers of sewerage pipes to converge the discharges of urban centers, even those located far apart, into a single plant.
2. If one of these plants encounters problems, the malfunction does not compromise the proper functioning of the others.

As previously mentioned, the environmental impact of these constructed wetlands is almost minimal, as they resemble a flowerbed where plants and microorganisms substitute traditional systems in the role of water purifiers. Furthermore, the low costs pertain not only to maintenance but also to energy consumption, which is minimal for purifying the water and making it reusable.