Table of contents
1. Indicator assessment
Water scarcity arises when the demand for water exceeds the volume of renewable freshwater available. It affected 16 % of the EU-27 territory and 26 % of its population nearly all year round in 2019. Although water abstraction declined by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019, no explicit downward trend is observed in water scarcity conditions. Water scarcity is an issue affecting areas all across the EU. Climate change exacerbates the natural fluctuations in seasonal water availability, resulting in increased frequency, intensity and impacts of drought events.
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Thank you for your recommendation. The underlying data show mixed trends on renewable water resources in Europe. The impacts of climate change on water resources can be observed particularly on increasing magnitude of hydro-climatic extremes. Indeed, in many water scarce areas of southern Europe, renewable water resources decreased further, despite water saving and efficiency efforts. In northestern areas, renewable water resources increased. The water scarcity phenomenon appears for complex reasons, which is a result of natural and anthropogenic conditions. Additionally, please note that water abstraction decreased by 15% overall (EU average), which may mask different trends in abstraction at the local level. Furthermore, we should take into account that over-exploited aquifers may need substantial amount of time to recover.
Austrian comments (Helga Lindinger)
Water scarcity (WEI>0?) arises....
Although water abstraction (water abstractions for irrigation are the essential ones, as these are not returned to the environment, they are consumed) declined by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019, no explicit downward trend is observed in water scarcity conditions.
It should be checked, whether declining resources (more evaporation in warmer years) or changed seasonal patterns of water availability are the reasons for remaining water scarcity.
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As the report is focused on WEI+ it should probably be preferable to use the term "consumed water by human activities" instead of "demand for water" which represents something different.
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Thank you for the comment, we will revise respective text accordingly
As the report is focused on WEI+ it should probably be preferable to use the term "consumed water by human activities" instead of "demand for water" which represents something different.
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Italy:
We suggest replacing the statement "Water scarcity arises when the demand for water exceeds the volume of renewable freshwater available" with the one reported in the EU communication on Water Scarsity and Drought: "water scarcity means that water demand exceeds the water resources exploitable under sustainable conditions".
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Thank you for the comment. Overall, we agree with the suggested revision in the statement on the water scarcity. However, quantifying the volume of exploitable water itself is a conceptual challenge. Nevertheless, we will explore how to frame that expression to better reflect the intention.
Italy:
We suggest replacing the statement "Water scarcity arises when the demand for water exceeds the volume of renewable freshwater available" with the one reported in the EU communication on Water Scarsity and Drought: "water scarcity means that water demand exceeds the water resources exploitable under sustainable conditions".
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EU level
Figure 1 - Worst water scarcity conditions for European river basins in any quarter of 2019, as measured by using the water exploitation index plus (WEI+)
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Austrian comment:
The spatial level of river basins is fine for us; however, without displaying additionally national borders it is difficult - especially for landlocked countries as Austria - to locate the national territories and the river basins relevant for a country within the map
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Thank you for the comment, we will revise the map accordingly
Austrian comment:
The spatial level of river basins is fine for us; however, without displaying additionally national borders it is difficult - especially for landlocked countries as Austria - to locate the national territories and the river basins relevant for a country within the map
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We do not recognize the river basin boundaries shown on the map in Figure 1. For instance, the international river basins of Portugal include territory of Portugal and Spain. What does this delimitation correspond to? In this case, how are the values reported by Portugal and Spain combined? We also do not recognize the list of sub-basins presented in the Excel file (Basin codes and names) and we would like to know the origin of this list, especially regarding the basins and sub-basins that cover Portugal.
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The delineation of the sub basin entities shown in figure 1 is based on the ECRINS EEA spatial database also used by the EEA water accounts tool. You can find further information in the following links (1) <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea-catchments-and-rivers-network" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea-catchments-and-rivers-network</a>, (2) <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/wise-water-accounts-spatial" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/wise-water-accounts-spatial</a>
Delineation of Ecrins sub-basin is following catchment boundaries and is the most closest delineation in Ecrins to WFD Sub-unit. The reason that we use Ecrins spatial data as the reference instead of WFD RBD delineation is that, the WFD RBD spatial data reported under the WISE 5 doesn't present the topological information which is needed in computing hydro-climatic variables of the renewable freshwater resources.
Regarding the aggregation process of the data, the minimum spatial unit in Ecrins is the functional elementary catchment (the average size of the catchments in Ecrins is around 60 km2 ). All data on hydro-climate and water abstraction are disaggregated to this scale and then aggregated to any scale of interest by using an application which has been designed for such computation. Therefore, in some cases, there might be large differences between the European dataset and the data that national water agencies hold.
We will check once again if there is any missing information on the basin names in Ecrins and correct it.We do not recognize the river basin boundaries shown on the map in Figure 1. For instance, the international river basins of Portugal include territory of Portugal and Spain. What does this delimitation correspond to? In this case, how are the values reported by Portugal and Spain combined? We also do not recognize the list of sub-basins presented in the Excel file (Basin codes and names) and we would like to know the origin of this list, especially regarding the basins and sub-basins that cover Portugal.
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We agree with comment of Austria – the country borders are necessary for better orientation.
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Thank you for the comment, we will revise the map accordingly
We agree with comment of Austria – the country borders are necessary for better orientation.
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Hungarian technical comments:
According to the figure's title, the analysis was made for European river basins, but the figure rather includes sub-basins, as the legend (SB) refers to this. Since it is quite difficult to navigate on such a small figure (agreeing with AT comment), it would help a lot in identification if the borders of the river basins (in our opinion, it would rather help) were marked with a thicker line and putting the cursor on a specific hydrological unit its name would also appear. In addition, it would perhaps be useful if the figure could be supplemented with a table showing what percentage of the EU territory falls into each WEI+ category.-
Thank you for the comment, we will revise the map accordingly. The first key message of the indicator is adressing to the percentage of the EU territory under the water scarcity condition in 2019.
Hungarian technical comments:
According to the figure's title, the analysis was made for European river basins, but the figure rather includes sub-basins, as the legend (SB) refers to this. Since it is quite difficult to navigate on such a small figure (agreeing with AT comment), it would help a lot in identification if the borders of the river basins (in our opinion, it would rather help) were marked with a thicker line and putting the cursor on a specific hydrological unit its name would also appear. In addition, it would perhaps be useful if the figure could be supplemented with a table showing what percentage of the EU territory falls into each WEI+ category.
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Italy:
We do not agree with this representation where different quarterly situations are shown together in a unique map. It would be better to provide 4 distinct maps, one for each quarterly. Moreover we don't recognize river basins used in the WEI+ calculation, because at national level WFD-related evaluations, including water scarsity, are performed at RBD and Country levels. These two levels are used by Italy to provide official data to WISE, Eurostat/OCSE, and so on. Hence, we don't understand how you derived at NUTS2 and River Basin levels the figures used in the WEI+ calculation.
Please note that in fig. 1 and in different part of the text you refer to WEI instead of WEI+. This may confuse readers that are not aware about the difference between WEI and WEi+
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The delineation used in this map is the Sub-basin based on the EEA ECRINS spatial database an integral part of the EEA water accounts system. The basis of this spatial system is the functional elementary catchments (FEC) which allow us to - quite accurately - aggregate to other scales such as Subbasins, RBDs, NUTS2 and Country. Please also see the EEA reply to the comments from Portugal on the same concern.
Presenting all quarterly WEI+ in a single map helps in calculating the percentage of EU territory under the water scarcity condition within the respective year. Nevertheless, WEI+ can also be illustrated on quarterly resolution. We will consider your proposal to restore the map to distinct seasons in case of better approach to the reader.Italy:
We do not agree with this representation where different quarterly situations are shown together in a unique map. It would be better to provide 4 distinct maps, one for each quarterly. Moreover we don't recognize river basins used in the WEI+ calculation, because at national level WFD-related evaluations, including water scarsity, are performed at RBD and Country levels. These two levels are used by Italy to provide official data to WISE, Eurostat/OCSE, and so on. Hence, we don't understand how you derived at NUTS2 and River Basin levels the figures used in the WEI+ calculation.
Please note that in fig. 1 and in different part of the text you refer to WEI instead of WEI+. This may confuse readers that are not aware about the difference between WEI and WEi+
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For France, some WEI+ values seem too high. Particularly for Brittany, we do not find such results in our data (this is probably in relation with input data. For example, in available calculation files, we found abstraction and consumption figures 4 to 10 times higher than our own input data for this territory)
Knowing that some results appear inconsistent, and as we have not been able to verify all the input data and calculations, we have reservations about publishing this version of the map.
In addition, we found it difficult to make comparisons, because of the different geographical reference layers: ECRINS and WFD/subunits. Furthermore, the online data are only given for the sub-units and not for the WFD districts (which would have facilitated comparison at the RBD level)
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Thank you for your comments. European dataset on water resources present large gaps and has limited capability to provide the same results which might be obtained from the national data that national water agencies hold. Therefore, having such substantial differences with national data is highly likely. Certainly, we will reassess the French case and provide you with the updated results to make a final comparison with your own data. We can also replace our results with your calculation in the case you would kindly share your calculation. Another option would be taking out the WEI+ values for Brittany from the dataset if you consider that would be more appropriate.
For your information ECRINS subbasin is not fully comparable with WFD RBD/SU scales, but it is the closest delineation of Ecrins to the WFD delineation. ECRINS is based on functional elementary catchments (FEC) following the natural hydrological thresholds. We use the FEC as minimum spatial unit for disaggregating all variables for the WEI+ computation and aggregate the outcomes to any scale of interest.
Please also be informed that the WFD Spatial data doesn’t have topological information which is necessary to compute the hydro-climate variables of the WEI+. Therefore, using spatially consistent data as reference e.g. Ecrins is technically compulsory if a European overview needs to be provided on the water scarcity condition.
For France, some WEI+ values seem too high. Particularly for Brittany, we do not find such results in our data (this is probably in relation with input data. For example, in available calculation files, we found abstraction and consumption figures 4 to 10 times higher than our own input data for this territory)
Knowing that some results appear inconsistent, and as we have not been able to verify all the input data and calculations, we have reservations about publishing this version of the map.
In addition, we found it difficult to make comparisons, because of the different geographical reference layers: ECRINS and WFD/subunits. Furthermore, the online data are only given for the sub-units and not for the WFD districts (which would have facilitated comparison at the RBD level)
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Note:
- WEI+ illustrates the percentage of water consumption against renewable freshwater resources available for a given territory and period.
- This map gives an overview of the worst seasonal water scarcity conditions (maximum seasonal WEI+) in any quarter of 2019 across river basin in Europe. Seasonal WEI+ values are estimated as quarterly averages per river basin, as defined in the European Catchments and Rivers Network System (Ecrins).
- Annual quarters are: Q1 (January-March), Q2 (April-June), Q3 (July-September), Q4 (October-December)
Data sources:
- Waterbase — Water Quantity provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2021).
- European Catchments and Rivers Network System (Ecrins) provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2018).
- Waterbase — UWWTD: Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive — reported data provided by the Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) and the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2020).
- The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR), Member States reporting under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2019).
- Water statistics (Eurostat) provided by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat, 2021b).
- Distributed Water Balance and Flood Simulation Model provided by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) (Burek et al., 2013).
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We consider that the diversity of data sources (EEA/EIONET, OECD, Eurostat, AQUAstat,…), all with different purposes, assumptions and statistical treatment, can cause problems of coherence and comparability. For this reason it was important to ask each member state to validate its baseline data, whether this data is correct vis-à-vis the intended target, before calculating the indicator.
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Thank you for your comment, all data reported to EU or other international organizations are considered as validated ones. We've gone through an extensive assessment of potential different definitions of parameters under these datasets and in very limited cases it required additional data curation. Other than this, these data sources are fit for calculating the WEI+ indicator
We consider that the diversity of data sources (EEA/EIONET, OECD, Eurostat, AQUAstat,…), all with different purposes, assumptions and statistical treatment, can cause problems of coherence and comparability. For this reason it was important to ask each member state to validate its baseline data, whether this data is correct vis-à-vis the intended target, before calculating the indicator.
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We support the previous comment that „it was important to ask each member state to validate its baseline data, whether this data is correct vis-à-vis the intended target, before calculating the indicator“.
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Thank you for your comment, all data reported to EU or other international organizations are considered as validated ones. We've gone through an extensive assessment of potential different definitions of parameters under these datasets and in very limited cases it required additional data curation. Other than this, these data sources are fit for calculating the WEI+ indicator. In line with your comments, we have also made the reference data available to this Eionet consultation. Data on water abstraction by source and by sector is the same data set used for developing the indicator on water abstraction in Europe for which the Eionet consultation had been conducted before calculating the WEI+ indicator (<a href="https://forum.eionet.europa.eu/nrc-eionet-freshwater/library/indicator-water-abstraction-by-source-and-sector;" rel="nofollow">https://forum.eionet.europa.eu/nrc-eionet-freshwater/library/indicator-water-abstraction-by-source-and-sector;</a> and <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/ims/water-abstraction-by-source-and" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/ims/water-abstraction-by-source-and</a>).
We support the previous comment that „it was important to ask each member state to validate its baseline data, whether this data is correct vis-à-vis the intended target, before calculating the indicator“.
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We agree with previous comments. In addtion, we found that the input data for France (in reference data file) is not all consistent with our national data. This is why we cannot give a relevant opinion on the final values of the indicator at country level (the indicator apparently has to be reprocessed with complete reported values)
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Thank you for your comment, we will re-assess the French case in accordance to your previous comment. In addition, we would happly replace our data with your data; or directly publish the outcomes of your WEI+ computation
We agree with previous comments. In addtion, we found that the input data for France (in reference data file) is not all consistent with our national data. This is why we cannot give a relevant opinion on the final values of the indicator at country level (the indicator apparently has to be reprocessed with complete reported values)
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Italy:
We agree with previous comments. We found that the input data are not consistent with our national data and spatial aggregation used for WFD-related issues so that we cannot evaluate nor validate the final values of the indicator.
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Thank you for your comment, all data reported to EU or other international organizations are considered as validated ones. Nevertheless, we should underline the fact that the WISE SoE and the Eurostat database present large spatial and temporal gaps for providing a comparable and comprehesive overview. In order to achieve that we perform large gap fillings for those countries where reported data is not sufficient. This exposes the outcomes of data compilation and harmonisation to a certain level of uncertainity and diminish the qulity of the results. In order to eliminate such obstacles, we kindly request the countries to provide missing datasets through WISE-3 or Eurostat reporting. Regarding the unmatching spatial unit of Ecrins with WFD RBD delineation, as pointed out in previous replies to the same content of concern, WFD spatial data doesn't hold the topological information. Hence, its usability for computing the WEI+ is very limited. Therefore, Ecrins dataset is used as spatial reference.
Italy:
We agree with previous comments. We found that the input data are not consistent with our national data and spatial aggregation used for WFD-related issues so that we cannot evaluate nor validate the final values of the indicator.
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Aggregate level assessment
Freshwater resources are essential for human health, nature, and the functioning of economies and societies. However, across Europe, these resources are threatened by multiple pressures. To address this, the Water Framework Directive requires Member States to promote the sustainable use of water resources (EU, 2000a). Monitoring the pressure on freshwater resources is important for assessing progress towards this objective and for identifying areas prone to water scarcity. This is also in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.4.2, which aims at monitoring global water scarcity issues.
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Italy:
We suggest pointing out that, unlike WEI+, the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.4.2 takes also into account the Environmental Flow Requirements (EFR)
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Thank you for your comment, we are aware of this difference. The text suggests that they are in the same family of indicators not exactly the same indicators. We will make the difference more explicit.
Italy:
We suggest pointing out that, unlike WEI+, the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.4.2 takes also into account the Environmental Flow Requirements (EFR)
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As Italy, we've also noticed this difference with th UN SDG 6.4.2 indicator (taking into account EFR)
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Thank you for your comment, we are aware of this difference. We will make the difference more explicit.
As Italy, we've also noticed this difference with th UN SDG 6.4.2 indicator (taking into account EFR)
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Water scarcity is determined primarily by (1) water demand, which largely depends on population and socio-economic activities; and (2) climatic conditions, which control water availability and the seasonality of supply. Assessing water scarcity conditions across Europe at river basin level from season to season is more informative, compared to aggregated annual estimates at European or even country level, which masks the extent or intensity of the problem for certain areas or seasons. The water exploitation index plus (WEI+) measures water consumption as a percentage of the renewable freshwater resources available for a defined territory and period: values above 20 % indicate that water resources are under stress; values above 40 % indicate that stress is severe and freshwater use is unsustainable (Raskin et al., 1997).
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Austrian comment (Helga Lindinger, Ernst Überreiter):
Last sentence: The treshold values for water stress are fine for us but note: the 20% and 40% threshold values were originally developed for WEI (as described on page 6 below). Although WEI+ delivers lower values than WEI the threshold values for water stress were kept.
Please add the definition for "water consumption"
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Thank you for your comment. We are aware of the issue. As there is no agreed trehsolds values available for the EU assessment, we indicatively keep the same threshold values, until any new are proposed.
Austrian comment (Helga Lindinger, Ernst Überreiter):
Last sentence: The treshold values for water stress are fine for us but note: the 20% and 40% threshold values were originally developed for WEI (as described on page 6 below). Although WEI+ delivers lower values than WEI the threshold values for water stress were kept.
Please add the definition for "water consumption"
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Consequently the qualification of classes should be reviewed, as the impact on aquatic environment is greater for the same WEI or WEI+ value.
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Thank you for your comment. We are aware of the issue. As there is no agreed trehsold values available for the EU assessment, we indicatively keep the same threshold values, until any new are proposed.
Consequently the qualification of classes should be reviewed, as the impact on aquatic environment is greater for the same WEI or WEI+ value.
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The water resources listed for Slovakia are very significantly increased by counting Danube water in. Therefore the WEI+ values for Slovakia are very low (0,3 both in 2018 and 2019). However, Danube is creating the part of the state border in South-West of the Slovakia, so the possibility of use of this water is limited for smaller part of the country. The sub-basin of Danube directly influenced by water use is covering only about 3% of the whole territory of Slovakia. Therefore, the WEI+ for Slovakia is NOT REPRESENTING the real status of the country, as the real WEI+ for the rest of the country is much higher.
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Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, the computation system we use for the WEI+ is not capable to distinct the volume of water received as inflow from upstream territory for Danube. In the case you kindly provide us the reference WEI+ for Slovakia, we would happily to replace the EEA calculation with that.
The water resources listed for Slovakia are very significantly increased by counting Danube water in. Therefore the WEI+ values for Slovakia are very low (0,3 both in 2018 and 2019). However, Danube is creating the part of the state border in South-West of the Slovakia, so the possibility of use of this water is limited for smaller part of the country. The sub-basin of Danube directly influenced by water use is covering only about 3% of the whole territory of Slovakia. Therefore, the WEI+ for Slovakia is NOT REPRESENTING the real status of the country, as the real WEI+ for the rest of the country is much higher.
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Italy:
We agree with previous comments related to WEI+ thresholds and water consumpution definition
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Thank you for your comment, we will make proper adjustments in the indicator's text
Italy:
We agree with previous comments related to WEI+ thresholds and water consumpution definition
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Hungary:
It is recommended that the WEI+ be calculated for smaller catchments. The WEI+ result of these catchments should be aggregated, weighted by area ratio, so it can be better demonstrated how water-deficient (or not) a country is.
The NUTS-2 regions were demarcated on the basis of administrative boundaries and not according to hydrological units (catchments), so it is difficult to assign water resources to their territory. In addition, in the case of Hungary, Budapest is a separate region within the territory of Pest county, which further complicates the quantification. Water uses can be more easily broken down by region, while quantifying water resources in such a division is difficult.-
Thank you for your feedback and proposal of further improving the WEI+ indicator. The NUTS-2 calculation was marked as exploratory for this purpose.
Hungary:
It is recommended that the WEI+ be calculated for smaller catchments. The WEI+ result of these catchments should be aggregated, weighted by area ratio, so it can be better demonstrated how water-deficient (or not) a country is.
The NUTS-2 regions were demarcated on the basis of administrative boundaries and not according to hydrological units (catchments), so it is difficult to assign water resources to their territory. In addition, in the case of Hungary, Budapest is a separate region within the territory of Pest county, which further complicates the quantification. Water uses can be more easily broken down by region, while quantifying water resources in such a division is difficult.
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Malta:
It should also be noted that water scarcity is also determined by geographic conditions related to location.
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Thank you for your comment, we will make proper adjustments in the indicator's text integrating this note
Malta:
It should also be noted that water scarcity is also determined by geographic conditions related to location.
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In general, water scarcity is more common in southern Europe, where more than half of the population lives permanently under water scarcity conditions almost all year round. Water abstractions for agriculture, public water supply and tourism are the most significant pressures on freshwater.
Water scarcity is not limited to southern Europe, but extends further to river basins in western, eastern and northern Europe. This is caused primarily by significant urbanisation, combined with high levels of abstraction for public water supply, energy and industry. During the last decade drought events are also becoming more frequent and severe in these areas having impact particularly seasonal water availability.
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Last sentence “…having impact particularly on seasonal water availability”.
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Thank you for your comment, we will make proper adjustments in the indicator's text
Last sentence “…having impact particularly on seasonal water availability”.
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In 2019, 16% of the EU-27 territory and 26% of its population were affected by water scarcity conditions for at least three quarters of the year. Temporary water scarcity conditions, only for one quarter of the year, affected another 15% of the EU-27 territory and 23% of its population[1]. Despite total water abstraction declined by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019, no explicit downward trend is observed for population and area affected by water scarcity conditions.
[1] At EEA-38 level, 17% of the territory and 38% of the population were affected by water scarcity conditions at least in one quarter of 2019.
Climate change threatens to reduce further the availability of freshwater resources in parts of southern and western Europe and exacerbates the natural fluctuations in seasonal water availability. As a result, the frequency, intensity and impacts of drought events are increasing. Therefore, more effort is needed to ensure sustainable water use across Europe. and improvement of socio-economic and ecosystem resilience against water scarcity conditions.
Country level
Figure 2 - Worst seasonal water scarcity conditions for European countries in any quarter of 2019, as measured by using the water exploitation index plus (WEI+).
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Regarding the values by trimester(T)/quarter(Q) (EEA/EIONET: Q1:JFM; Q2:AMJ; Q3:JAS; Q4:OND); (APA-PT: T1:OND; T2:JFM; T3:AMJ; T4:JAS), the worst value (worst seasonal water scarcity conditions) of 2019 is reached, as would be expected, in Q3/T4 (as shown in the map – Figure 2), although the EEA/EIONET value for Q3 (58%) is lower than the value from our own calculations for T4 (67%). For this reason it is difficult to validate the data if we do not know the baseline data used.
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Thank you for your comment, however it is obvious that direct comparison between fiscal and water years could not be applied. As most of the FW-related data are reported under fiscal year range (January-December) by the national statistical institutions, we had to adjust our datasets accordingly for seasonal / annual temporal resolutions presenting the WEI+
Regarding the values by trimester(T)/quarter(Q) (EEA/EIONET: Q1:JFM; Q2:AMJ; Q3:JAS; Q4:OND); (APA-PT: T1:OND; T2:JFM; T3:AMJ; T4:JAS), the worst value (worst seasonal water scarcity conditions) of 2019 is reached, as would be expected, in Q3/T4 (as shown in the map – Figure 2), although the EEA/EIONET value for Q3 (58%) is lower than the value from our own calculations for T4 (67%). For this reason it is difficult to validate the data if we do not know the baseline data used.
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The value for Slovakia strongly affected by Danube River counted into renewable resources, however Danube is only “touching” Slovakia on small part of its border, water from it is not available for whole country – see the previous comment.
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Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, the computation system we use for the WEI+ is not capable to distinct the volume of water received as inflow from upstream territory for Danube. In the case you kindly provide us the reference WEI+ for Slovakia, we would happily to replace the EEA calculation with that.
The value for Slovakia strongly affected by Danube River counted into renewable resources, however Danube is only “touching” Slovakia on small part of its border, water from it is not available for whole country – see the previous comment.
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Italy:
At country level we cannot validate the reported estimation for worst seasonal WEI+ in 2019 since we do not have information about returns for all uses and concerning abstractions official data for 2019 are not yet available.
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Thank you for your comment, you can also validate your national data with the first version of water accounts data found here (<a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/wise-water-accounts-database" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/wise-water-accounts-database</a>) or with the recently updated water abstractions indicator found here (<a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-economic-sector#tab-chart_3_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Austria%22%5D%7D%7D" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-economic-sector#tab-chart_3_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Austria%22%5D%7D%7D</a>). Please also be kind when these data will become available to share with us for further improving the dataset and indicator assessment
Italy:
At country level we cannot validate the reported estimation for worst seasonal WEI+ in 2019 since we do not have information about returns for all uses and concerning abstractions official data for 2019 are not yet available.
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Hungary:
In reality, in the case of Hungary, the biggest water shortage would be in Q3, and not in Q1.-
Thank you for your comment, we will re-assess the Hungarian case for balanced seasonality of the WEI+. However, in the case you have any reference data available, please be kind to share with us to improve the WEI+ computation for Hungary
Hungary:
In reality, in the case of Hungary, the biggest water shortage would be in Q3, and not in Q1.
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For Ireland, the national totals appear correct, however when considering the abstraction data which is being used it would appear that there has been a change since 2018. We didnt not provide abstraction data prior to 2018 and therefore the assumptions regarding NACE code may be incorrect. Primarily this relates to the use of the "electricity cooling" NACE code. Overall this should not affect the WEI+ Index.
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There was a new data collection for the latest years of 2018 and 2019, however the methothodology on the estimation of water consumption of energy production (cooling) is not change. Could you please be more specific on the effect that you mentioned on WEI+ index?
For Ireland, the national totals appear correct, however when considering the abstraction data which is being used it would appear that there has been a change since 2018. We didnt not provide abstraction data prior to 2018 and therefore the assumptions regarding NACE code may be incorrect. Primarily this relates to the use of the "electricity cooling" NACE code. Overall this should not affect the WEI+ Index.
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Concerning France : our estimation fot this indicator in 2019 (worst quarter okf 2019) is probably lower (we are currently finalising estimation), as long as water consumption estimated for 2019 is lower in our data than in the displayed files.
Furthermore, it appeared during the verification of the data at the country level that the assumptions taken into account for the calculation of the indicator did not fully correspond to the abstraction data reported at the national level (for drinking water), and that the return coefficient for the industrial sector seemed to be very underestimated compared to our national methodology and to the data of other countries.
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Thank you for your comment, please be kind to share with us your results when available to further improve the indicator assessment
Concerning France : our estimation fot this indicator in 2019 (worst quarter okf 2019) is probably lower (we are currently finalising estimation), as long as water consumption estimated for 2019 is lower in our data than in the displayed files.
Furthermore, it appeared during the verification of the data at the country level that the assumptions taken into account for the calculation of the indicator did not fully correspond to the abstraction data reported at the national level (for drinking water), and that the return coefficient for the industrial sector seemed to be very underestimated compared to our national methodology and to the data of other countries.
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Download attached file
With respect to our comments please note that to be able to give a more detailed opinion and corrections we would need to know exactly the source of the information and the definitions.
CHECKS THAT TOOK PLACE
The statistics coming from Eurostat in the "Reference annual data country level_2000_2019" file.
The comments are:
- The data listed in Agriculture is correct except for the year 2019. A line was added and marked in red the correct quantities.
- The remaining amounts for Manufacturing, mining and quarrying, Services and Household, must be EEA own calculations and breakdowns, perhaps combining the total amount of Public Water Supply from Eurostat’s Table 2 and other information from other sources. We cannot confirm these data.
- Data used to calculate the index in the file “2022-07-04_WEI plus CTY annual v10”. The only quantities, in the worksheet “1.CTY annual aggr”, which appear to be from Eurostat’s Table 1 (Renewable Freshwater Resources), are on lines 368,369,392 and 393. They have some slight differences from the quantities we sent to Eurostat. Correct values are marked in red in column G.
Regarding the calculation of the index, in the "3.WEI calculation" worksheet, EEA calculate the Renewable Freshwater Resources variable (which is the denominator in the WEI+ index calculation formula = (abstractions - returns)/renewable freshwater resources). This quantity is very different (much smaller) than the quantity in Eurostat table 1 for the variable with the same name. But since there are no definitions, we cannot know if the coverage of the 2 variables is the same.
- As a final comment, the data presented for Cyprus in the links below and in the corresponding excel files attached, have many errors which I have noted and are not consistent with the data we have sent to Eurostat.
<a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-economic-sector#tab-chart_3_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-economic-sector#tab-chart_3_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D</a>
<a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-source-2000-2019#tab-chart_1_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-source-2000-2019#tab-chart_1_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D</a>
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Thank you for your comment, all data sources along with additional explanatory text have already been mentioned in the respective sections of the indicator assessment text. Please also consult with the Supporting Information section of the indicator for respective definitions. Further methodological development can be found in the following link <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-freshwater-resources-3/assessment-4/resolveuid/b820b42dc3e8406a9bc9372ae3eee08b" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-freshwater-resources-3/assessment-4/resolveuid/b820b42dc3e8406a9bc9372ae3eee08b</a>
Thanks also sharing your data. We will re-assess the underlying data for the WEI+ accordingly.With respect to our comments please note that to be able to give a more detailed opinion and corrections we would need to know exactly the source of the information and the definitions.
CHECKS THAT TOOK PLACE
The statistics coming from Eurostat in the "Reference annual data country level_2000_2019" file.
The comments are:
- The data listed in Agriculture is correct except for the year 2019. A line was added and marked in red the correct quantities.
- The remaining amounts for Manufacturing, mining and quarrying, Services and Household, must be EEA own calculations and breakdowns, perhaps combining the total amount of Public Water Supply from Eurostat’s Table 2 and other information from other sources. We cannot confirm these data.
- Data used to calculate the index in the file “2022-07-04_WEI plus CTY annual v10”. The only quantities, in the worksheet “1.CTY annual aggr”, which appear to be from Eurostat’s Table 1 (Renewable Freshwater Resources), are on lines 368,369,392 and 393. They have some slight differences from the quantities we sent to Eurostat. Correct values are marked in red in column G.
Regarding the calculation of the index, in the "3.WEI calculation" worksheet, EEA calculate the Renewable Freshwater Resources variable (which is the denominator in the WEI+ index calculation formula = (abstractions - returns)/renewable freshwater resources). This quantity is very different (much smaller) than the quantity in Eurostat table 1 for the variable with the same name. But since there are no definitions, we cannot know if the coverage of the 2 variables is the same.
- As a final comment, the data presented for Cyprus in the links below and in the corresponding excel files attached, have many errors which I have noted and are not consistent with the data we have sent to Eurostat.
<a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-economic-sector#tab-chart_3_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-economic-sector#tab-chart_3_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D</a>
<a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-source-2000-2019#tab-chart_1_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D" rel="nofollow">https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/water-abstraction-by-source-2000-2019#tab-chart_1_filters=%7B%22rowFilters%22%3A%7B%7D%3B%22columnFilters%22%3A%7B%22pre_config_country%22%3A%5B%22Cyprus%22%5D%7D%7D</a>
Note:
- WEI+ illustrates the percentage of water consumption against renewable freshwater resources available for a given territory and period.
- This figure gives an overview of the worst seasonal water scarcity conditions (maximum seasonal WEI+) in any quarter of 2019 across countries in Europe. Seasonal WEI+ values are estimated as quarterly averages per country. Worst quarter of the year for water scarcity conditions is provided in brackets next to the name of the country.
- Annual quarters are: Q1 (January-March), Q2 (April-June), Q3 (July-September), Q4 (October-December)
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Hungary:
In contrast to the seasonal (which is correct quarterly) breakdown presented here, the division that really fits the seasons could also be used and would be representative: Q1: winter (December-January-February) Q2: spring (March-April-May) etc.
A possible division into summer and winter semesters could also be used.
Since we are talking about water resources, it would also be possible to divide them according to the hydrological cycle, in which case Q4 could start from November.-
Thank you for your comment and proposal. As most of the FW-related data are reported under fiscal year range (January-December) by the national statistical institutions, we had to adjust our datasets accordingly for quarterly / annual temporal resolutions presenting the WEI+
Hungary:
In contrast to the seasonal (which is correct quarterly) breakdown presented here, the division that really fits the seasons could also be used and would be representative: Q1: winter (December-January-February) Q2: spring (March-April-May) etc.
A possible division into summer and winter semesters could also be used.
Since we are talking about water resources, it would also be possible to divide them according to the hydrological cycle, in which case Q4 could start from November.
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Hungary:
The text covers the generation of quarterly data in only one sentence, but the calculation tables are available on the main page.
Looking at the table entitled Quaterly WEI at country level (2022-07-04_WEI plus CTY seasonal v10), in the case of Hungary in 2019, it is not clear on what basis the total annual water withdrawal volume was distributed to the quarterly values. The table shows that there are more water withdrawals in Q1 and Q4 than in Q2 and Q3. Hungary only provides annual water withdrawal data, but in all likelihood, the larger water withdrawals occur in the Q2 and Q3 periods rather than in Q1 and Q4.-
Thank you for your comment, we will re-assess the Hungarian case for balanced seasonality of the WEI+
Hungary:
The text covers the generation of quarterly data in only one sentence, but the calculation tables are available on the main page.
Looking at the table entitled Quaterly WEI at country level (2022-07-04_WEI plus CTY seasonal v10), in the case of Hungary in 2019, it is not clear on what basis the total annual water withdrawal volume was distributed to the quarterly values. The table shows that there are more water withdrawals in Q1 and Q4 than in Q2 and Q3. Hungary only provides annual water withdrawal data, but in all likelihood, the larger water withdrawals occur in the Q2 and Q3 periods rather than in Q1 and Q4.
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Data sources:
- Waterbase — Water Quantity provided by the European Environment Agency (EEA, 2021).
- Water statistics provided by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat, 2021b).
- Aquastat water database provided by FAO(FAO, 2021) .
- OECD water database provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2021).
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Data sources from EEA for abstraction were not taken completely (we checked the data for 2018 and 2019 for Slovakia, there is difference in the categories of abstractions for electricity production (the sum used for index calculation is lower than reported).
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Thank you for your comment, we will re-assess the Slovakian case in the context of underlying data and potentially correct the WEI+ results
Data sources from EEA for abstraction were not taken completely (we checked the data for 2018 and 2019 for Slovakia, there is difference in the categories of abstractions for electricity production (the sum used for index calculation is lower than reported).
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Same comment as Slovakia, we've noticed slight differences between reported data (either to Eurostat or EEA) and EEA data available online for 2018 and 2019
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Thank you for your comment, we will re-assess the French case in the context of underlying data and potentially correct the WEI+ results
Same comment as Slovakia, we've noticed slight differences between reported data (either to Eurostat or EEA) and EEA data available online for 2018 and 2019
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With respect to our comments above please note that to be able to give a more detailed opinion and corrections we would need to know exactly the source of the information and the definitions.
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Thank you for your kind comment. All data sources and methods have been cited in the indicator assessment text. Further information on data and methods could be found in the following link https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-freshwater-resources-3/assessment-4/resolveuid/b820b42dc3e8406a9bc9372ae3eee08b
We kindly suggest to consult with the data sources provided on the indicator assessment, as well as the reference data which has been made available during the Eionet consultation for the indicator on water abstraction by source and by sector :
With respect to our comments above please note that to be able to give a more detailed opinion and corrections we would need to know exactly the source of the information and the definitions.
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In 2019, the countries that faced the most significant water scarcity conditions on the annual scale were Cyprus, and Malta (annual WEI+ > 20%; see further Country annual WEI+ results). Cyprus and Malta also showed significant water scarcity conditions on the seasonal scale, followed by Greece, Portugal, Spain and Turkey (seasonal WEI+ > 20%; see further Country seasonal WEI+ results) (Figure 2). In general, water scarcity conditions intensify between July and September in the majority of the EEA-38 countries. This is a combination of dry weather, reduced flows and increased abstractions for irrigated agriculture, tourism and other socio-economic activities during that period of the year.
Certain river basins and NUTS2 regions, which were significantly affected by seasonal water scarcity in 2019, are found in Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Spain and Turkey (seasonal WEI+ > 20%; see further NUTS2 seasonal WEI+ results and River basin seasonal WEI+ results).
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We don't find the same results for French regions as those shown on the previous map
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Thank you for your comment, as mentioned earlier we will re-assess the French case in the context of underlying data to identify the reason for differences with your own calculation. In order to be able to undertake such analyses, we kindly request to provide the results of your WEI+ computation. In the case we could not achieve the close WEI+ values to your calculation for French basin(s), could you please let us know about the next steps? Either we can accommodate a disclaimer to the map indicating the difference of WEI+ results between the EEA and France; or we can omit those French basins from the map.
We don't find the same results for French regions as those shown on the previous map
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Italy:
According to our previous comments we cannot validate the statement that certain Italian river basins and NUTS2 regions were significantly affected by seasonal water scarcity in 2019
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Thank you for your comment, we will re-assess the Italian case in the context of underlying data to identify if there is any data or computation related errors to be corrected. Please be informed that the spatial delineations used in this assessment are based on the EEA ECRINS spatial database an integral part of the EEA water accounts system. The basis of this spatial system is the functional elementary catchments (FEC) which allow us to - quite accurately - aggregate to other scales such as Subbasins, RBDs, NUTS2 and Country.
Similar to the previous feedback to France, we kindly ask you to provide your WEI+ computation to make an accurate comparison to improve the EEA results for Italian basin(s). If such results are not available, please let us know the next steps to be taken. Either we can accommodate a disclaimer to the map indicating the difference of WEI+ results between the EEA and Italy; or we can omit those Italian basins from the dataset and map.
Italy:
According to our previous comments we cannot validate the statement that certain Italian river basins and NUTS2 regions were significantly affected by seasonal water scarcity in 2019
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Austrian comments (Helga Lindinger)
Water scarcity (WEI>0?) arises....
Although water abstraction (water abstractions for irrigation are the essential ones, as these are not returned to the environment, they are consumed) declined by 15 % in the EU-27 between 2000-2019, no explicit downward trend is observed in water scarcity conditions.
It should be checked, whether declining resources (more evaporation in warmer years) or changed seasonal patterns of water availability are the reasons for remaining water scarcity.