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Environmental information systems
European Union
-%
0 - 20% No water scarcity
20 - 40% Water scarcity
> 40% Severe water scarcity
Water abstraction from surface and groundwater resources
Our communities and our economy mostly rely on surface water (rivers, lakes, reservoirs) and groundwater resources. The EU Water Framework Directive promotes sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources.
Annual water abstraction from surface water and groundwater resources, in million m3
Between and , the annual water abstraction from surface water and groundwater in by %. At the same time, water abstraction from groundwater increased from % to %.
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Water abstraction by economic sector
While our society, economy, and ecosystems depend on abstracting water from rivers, lakes, reservoirs and groundwater sources, using water efficiently in agriculture, electricity generation, industry, households, and other sectors will enhance our preparedness for droughts and water scarcity issues, making Europe more resilient to water-related challenges.
Volume of surface water and groundwater abstracted by economic sector, in million m3
In between and water abstraction:
- in
- in
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Water losses and leakages
In many cases, water needs to be transported from rivers, lakes, or reservoirs to the places where it is used, such as in households, agriculture, and industry. During this transport, some of the water is lost due to leakages in the water conveyance systems or simply returned to the atmosphere through evaporation or absorbed into the soil. Decreasing leakages and losses reduces the abstraction of water from surface and groundwater resources, as well as lowers the costs of water treatment and supply. This also helps improve our resilience to droughts and water scarcity caused by climate change.
Leakages and other water losses during water transport, in million m3
Between and in , leakages, evaporation and transpiration losses during water transport have by %.
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Development of our freshwater resources
Freshwater that we use comes from different sources like rivers, lakes, groundwater, and even snow and ice. When it rains, or when the snow melts, or when water flows in from neighboring countries, it adds more water to our water resources. However, some of it also returns to the atmosphere when it evaporates from reservoirs, lakes, and soil, or when it is used up by plants. The overall result of these processes builds our country's renewable freshwater resources, which are replenished year-round. Because of climate change, the amount of fresh water we can rely on varies a lot from year to year. This makes it hard to predict how much we will have in the future.
Annual volume of freshwater resources, in million m3
Between and , years experienced annual volume of freshwater resources below the average for this period in .
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It is noted that countries may have a broad range of climatic, landscape and geological characteristics causing significant regional variability in surface and groundwater availability.
Average volume of freshwater resources, in m3 per person
Taking into account the population and the period - , the annual volume of freshwater resources per person in is m3, the EU average.
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Supply of additional water resources
Supply of reclaimed water from urban waste water or desalinated water or brackish water may relieve the pressure on freshwater resources, reduce water scarcity, diversify the sources of water supply and increase resilience against droughts and water scarcity in Europe.
Supply of additional water resources, in million m3
- In .
The desalinated sea water is mostly used for drinking purposes. In the last two decades the supply of desalinated water in is .
Desalinating seawater is an energy-intensive process, and it is important that the energy source used is renewable.
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- In .
The treated urban wastewater (reclaimed water) is mainly used for crop irrigation. The use of reclaimed water .
The EU Water Reuse Regulation makes sure the treated urban waste water meets certain quality standards so it can be safely used for crop irrigation.
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- In .
The supply of other non-freshwater resources has between and .
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Financial cost recovery in river basins
Article 9 of the Water Framework Directive requires that the EU Member States apply water-pricing policies that provide incentives for efficient water use and contribute to the Directive's environmental objectives. The map illustrates the extent to which costs for water services in industry, households, and agriculture are recovered, as reported by Member States under the WFD 2nd RBMP reporting.
Financial cost recovery by sector
Price of domestic water in cities of , euro/m3
Water pricing is a highly intricate system influenced by many different factors like water availability, water supply infrastructure, consumer behaviors etc. These variables can result implementing in distinct water pricing schemes even among cities within the same administrative units. The map is illustrating prices in domestic water use in big cities solely for information purposes.
Eurostat data on the price of domestic water, although continually updated, still presents large temporal gaps owing to the voluntary nature of data reporting.