Table of contents
1. Indicator assessment
EU level
Water plays important role for the European society and economy by meeting water demand for drinking, food, energy, industry, transport and ecosystems. The EU Water Framework Directive, inter alia, promotes sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources; and aims to prevent further deterioration, protect and enhance the status of aquatic ecosystems.
Total water abstraction has decreased by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019. On average (2000-2019), annual total water abstraction is accounted for 215 000 million m3 in the EU-27, that was 202 000 million m3 in 2019.
Despite remarkably achievements in decreasing the water abstraction by economic sectors, according to the EEA assessments (EEA, 2021), uncertainty on water availability at seasonal scale is increasing across Europe. In order to manage the risks of that uncertainties, water use efficiency needs to be further improved in the coming years in line with the overall objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Green Deal.
Between 2000-2019, the pressure on groundwater resources has increased by 4 %; public water supply and agriculture are behind. Groundwater has supplied almost 65 % of total public water supply and 25 % of agricultural total water demand in the EU-27 in 2019.
At the economic sector level, cooling water for electricity generation and manufacturing accounted for 34 % of annual total water abstraction followed by agriculture (28 %), public water supply (20 %) and manufacturing industry, mining and quarrying (14 %) in 2019.
During the last 10 years (2010-2019), water abstraction for cooling (both for electricity production and manufacturing) has decreased by 11 %, whereas public water supply and agriculture has increased total water abstraction by 13 % and 6 % respectively in the same period in the EU-27.
Note: Economic sectors in the scope of this indicator are defined in accordance with the NACE classification (Eurostat, 2008). The indicator covers the following economic sectors; Agriculture (including forestry and fishing), manufacturing, mining and quarrying, cooling for electricity production, cooling for manufacturing and public water supply.
Regional grouping follows UN Geoscheme - Standard M49. For the EU 27: Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia; Northern Europe: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden; Southern Europe: Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain; Western Europe: Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands.
For the EIONET member countries: Northern Europe: Iceland, Norway; Western Europe: Switzerland; Southern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey.
Water abstraction from surface water and groundwater resources
Promotion of sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources is one of the important purposes of the EU Water Framework Directive. Freshwater demand in the EU-27 is largely met from surface water (rivers, reservoirs and lakes) 75 % and groundwater resources (23 %). In some EU Member States use also desalinated water, rain-harvesting, and reuse of water from wastewater treatment plants under the certain quality control and condition. Apart from the potential in water reuse, those unconventional water supplies is still negligible. Nevertheless, this indicator is only addressing to water abstraction from surface water and groundwater by economic sectors.
According to the estimates based on the available data in the WISE SoE and Eurostat water database, the EU-27 abstracted 202 000 million m3 of water in total in 2019, of which 23 % came from groundwater and 77 % from surface water.
There are considerable differences among the countries (EU-27 and EIONET Member countries) in the volume of annual total water abstraction from surface or groundwater resources, according to geographical size, climate conditions, as well as major economic sectors of the countries.
In total, EEA-38 has abstracted about 280 000 million m3 of water in 2019 of which around 73 % has abstracted only in six-member countries; Turkey (21 %), Italy (14 %), Spain (11%), France (10 %), Germany (10 %) and Netherlands (4 %).
Water abstraction from surface water and groundwater vary also largely across the countries. Norway has abstracted 93 % of total water abstraction from surface water while Malta largely used groundwater resources (97 %) in 2019.
As the uncertainties on water availability in surface water is increasing, there is a steady increasing trend of water abstraction from groundwater resources in EEA-38, particularly in southern Europe. Between 2000-2019, water abstraction from groundwater has increased by 24 % in southern Europe, which largely affected by Turkey, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal. At the country level the largest change on water abstraction from groundwater is estimated higher than doubled for Iceland, and Lithuania (90 %), Greece ( 69 %), Turkey (58 %), Ireland (25 %) and Malta (21 %).
Figure 2- Water abstraction by economic sectors in the EU-27 (2000-2019)
Note: Economic sectors in the scope of this indicator are defined in accordance with the NACE classification (Eurostat, 2008). The indicator covers the following economic sectors; Agriculture (including forestry and fishing), manufacturing, mining and quarrying, cooling for electricity production, cooling for manufacturing and public water supply.
Regional grouping follows UN Geoscheme - Standard M49. For the EU 27: Eastern Europe: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia; Northern Europe: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden; Southern Europe: Cyprus, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain; Western Europe: Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands.
For the EIONET member countries: Northern Europe: Iceland, Norway; Western Europe: Switzerland; Southern Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo (under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey
Overall water abstraction by all economic sectors in the EU-27 decreased by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019 with substantial differences at the regional level. However, during the last 10 years (2010-2019) water abstraction in Southern EU Member States has increased 9 % due to increasing water demand for agriculture and public water supply.
Water is abstracted by thermal power plants for electricity production and manufacturing industry for cooling purposes. This sector abstracted the largest volume of water from environment in 2019, accounted for 39 % of annual total water abstraction in the EU-27. About 60 % of total water abstraction for cooling purposes occurs in western Europe, followed by Eastern Europe (19 %), Southern Europe (16 %) and northern Europe (4 %).
In 2019, around 79 % of total water abstraction for cooling purposes in the EU 27 accounted for in seven Member States; France (23 %), Germany (21 %), Netherlands (10 %) Italy and Poland respectively (7%) Spain (6 %) and Belgium (5 %). It should also be noted that on average around 80 % of water abstracted by power plants for cooling was returned to the environment which indicates relatively lower water use ratio by this sector, but with heat emission to the surface waters.
Agriculture supports the production of food and other agricultural products, which are necessary for the health and prosperity of European citizens. EU is the global leader of agri-food exports (e.g. wines, spirits, cheese, infant food, preparations of fruits and vegetables, meat, cereals, chocolate, pasta and pastry), which reached 138 billion € in 2018 (DG AGRI, 2019) and employed up to 44 million people across Europe (DG AGRI, 2018).
Every year large volume of water is abstracted for agriculture. The major reason for water abstraction in the agricultural sector is crop irrigation. In 2019, the EU-27 abstracted about 56 000 million m3 of water to meet the water demand for irrigation, accounted for 28 % of total water abstraction.
Water abstraction for agriculture declined 17 % between 2000-2019 in the EU-27. However, there is an upward trend since 2010 in water abstraction for agriculture in Southern Europe (10%), whereas Western Europe decreased water abstraction 14 % in the same period. In the EU-27, Spain accounted for 37 % of total water abstraction for agriculture followed by Italy (29 %), Greece (14 %), Portugal (7 %) and France (4 %).
In the EEA-38, annual water abstraction for agriculture accounted for 110 000 million m3. At the regional level for the EEA-38, around 93 % of water abstraction for agriculture occurred in southern Europe, with Turkey (46 %), Spain (19 %) and Italy (15 %) being the major consumers of agricultural water overall in Europe.
Public water supply is the sector ensuring access to water for households and other services industries, e.g. the business and production services, food and beverages, and accommodation sectors etc. In 2019, about 95 % of total population in the EU-27 was connected to public water supply corresponding to 447 million inhabitants. The EU-27 abstracted about 39 000 million m3 of water to meet the water demand of the 447 million inhabitants in 2019. This volume corresponds around 240 litres of water/capita/day. However, public water supply per capita/day greatly varies across the countries. It has ranged between 73 and 84 litres of water/capita/day in Luxembourg and Malta respectively and 1480 litres of water/capita/day in Iceland. As 50 litres per person is considered the daily minimum to meet basic human needs (Brown and Matlock, 2011), the EU average seems well above that threshold.
Public water supply is the third largest sector following cooling and agriculture, accounted for 19 % of total water abstraction in the EU-27 in 2019. Water abstraction for public water supply has been increasing in the EU-27. From 2010 onwards a sharp upward trend has been observed with 14 % increase between 2010 and 2019. The largest increase occurred in Southern Europe where water abstraction for public water supply increased by 33 %, while the total population has increased only by 9 % in that region for the same period.
At the country level, public water supply has more than doubled in Iceland and Greece, while in Lithuania, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia and Turkey the increase of public water supply has been higher than 50 % in 2019 compared to 2000. Meanwhile, water abstraction for public water supply has substantially decreased in Romania (58 %), North Macedonia (47 %), Albania (43 %) and Latvia (40 %) either due to decrease of country population or improvement in water conveyance systems.
Manufacturing industries such as the pulp and paper, iron and steel, textiles, food and beverages, and chemicals sectors use water in production processes or water is incorporated into the products. Similarly mining industry also uses water in production processes, e.g. dust depression and rock crushing, as well as in de-watering processes for removing water from mines.
In 2019, the EU-27 abstracted about 28 000 million m3 of water for industry and mining corresponding 14 % of total annual water abstraction for all economic sectors. Industry and mining and quarrying sectors registered markedly decreasing trend in water abstraction by 35 % in the EU-27 since 2000. However, it should be noted that, due to large data gaps on mining and quarrying sector, this result should be interpreted with caution.
At the country level, water abstraction for manufacturing, mining and quarrying has more than doubled in Romania and Netherland, and substantially decreased in Spain ( 79 %), Slovakia (74 %) and Denmark (67 %).
Despite remarkably achievements in decreasing the water abstraction by economic sectors, according to the EEA assessments (EEA, 2021), uncertainty on water availability at seasonal scale is increasing across Europe. In order to manage the risks of that uncertainties, water use efficiency needs to be further improved in the coming years in line with the overall objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Green Deal.