The complexity of the country’s hydrographic system (some regions with no rivers, others with large rivers, barriers related to the Appenines, water transfers) has led to a complex aggregation of small- and medium-sized river basins that requires further streamlining. A report on the competent authorities for implementation of the WFD according to Article 3 of the WFD was submitted to the European Commission, with a delay. District authorities not established due to an incomplete legal framework, as the ministerial decree aggregating and transferring the competence and funding from the existing river basin authorities to the new authorities was missing. The OECD Multi-level Governance Framework provides a tool to support policy makers in making such a diagnosis.