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Water statistics Statistics Explained

Source Statistics Explained (httpeceuropaeueurostatstatisticsexplained) - 05022018 1

Data extracted in August 2017 Most recent data Further Eurostat information Main tables and Database Planned article update June 2019

Water is essential for life it is an indispensable resource for the economy and also plays a fundamental role inthe climate regulation cycle The management and protection of water resources of fresh and salt water ecosys-tems and of the water we drink and bathe in is therefore one of the cornerstones of environmental protectionThis is why the EUrsquos water policy over the past 30 years is focused on the protection of water resources Arecent policy overview is provided in a document titled the rsquo Blueprint to safeguard Europersquos water resourcesrsquo (COM20120673) which aims at ensuring that good quality water of sufficient quantity is available for alllegitimate uses

This article presents water statistics in the European Union (EU) It is based on data on freshwater re-sources water abstraction water use and wastewater treatment and disposal

Main statistical findingsWater as a resourceWater resources refer to the water available for use in a territory and include surface waters (in other wordscoastal bays lakes rivers and streams) and groundwater Renewable water resources are calculated as thesum of internal flow (which is precipitation minus actual evapotranspiration ) and external inflow Freshwateravailability in a country is determined by climate conditions geomorphology land uses and transboundarywater flows (in other words external flows) Therefore there are significant differences among countries theUnited Kingdom Sweden France and Germany had the highest amount of freshwater resources with long-termannual averages ranging between 1729 and 1910 billion m3 (see Table 1) Note that among the EFTA andcandidate countries higher long-term averages were recorded for Norway (3710 billion m3)

Table 1 Freshwater resources mdash long-term annual average (billion m3)Source Eurostat (envwa-tres)

A number of countries receive a significant proportion of their freshwater resources as external inflow (see Figure1) Hungary and the Netherlands had the highest dependency on transboundary water resources as externalinflow accounted for 935 and 888 of their total freshwater resources respectively the share in Serbia wasalso high reaching 927 In absolute terms (in other words the volume of water received) Hungary Croatiaand Bulgaria had the highest external inflows among the EU Member States (1089 billion m3 920 billion m3

and 851 billion m3 respectively (see Table 1)) although Serbia had an even higher volume (1626 billion m3)

Water statistics 2

Figure 1 Share of external inflow from neighbouring territories in renewable freshwater resourcesmdash long-term average ()Source Eurostat (envwatres)

Freshwater resources per inhabitant (see Figure 2) are considered an important indicator for measuring thesustainability of water resources Among the EU Member States Croatia recorded the highest freshwaterresources (with a long-term average of 27 330 m3 per inhabitant) Finland and Sweden had the next highestvolumes of freshwater resources per inhabitant at around 20 000 m3 By contrast relatively low levels mdash below3 000 m3 per inhabitant mdash were recorded in the six most populous EU Member States (France the UnitedKingdom Spain Germany Italy and Poland) as well as Denmark Luxembourg Romania Belgium the CzechRepublic Cyprus and Malta According to the rsquo World water development report rsquo of the United Nations acountry experiences rsquowater stressrsquo when its annual water resources drop below 1 700 m3 per inhabitant amongthe EU Member States this was the case in Poland the Czech Republic Cyprus and Malta (where the lowestvolume of water resources was recorded at 220 m3 per person)

Water statistics 3

Figure 2 Freshwater resources per inhabitant mdash long-term average(1 000 m3 per inhabi-tant)Source Eurostat (envwatres)

There are considerable differences in the amounts of freshwater abstracted within each of the EU MemberStates in part reflecting the size of each country and the resources available but also abstraction practicesclimate and the industrial and agricultural structure of each country In 2015 total abstraction of freshwaterranged between 46 million m3 in Luxembourg and 326 billion m3 in Spain (2014 data) Between 2005 and 2015mdash see Table 2 for the precise reference period covered for each EU Member State mdash the volume of freshwaterabstracted rose at its fastest pace in Malta (+40 ) while the largest decreases were recorded in Slovakia (-37) and Lithuania (-83 )

Water statistics 4

Table 2 Groundwater and surface water abstraction 2005ndash15(million m3)Source Eurostat (en-vwatabs)

Table 2 also shows the considerable differences between EU Member States as regards abstraction from ground-water and surface water resources In Finland (2006 data) surface water abstraction accounted for around 24times the volume of water abstracted from groundwater resources while the ratio of surface to groundwaterresources was around 101 in the Netherlands (2012 data) Romania and Bulgaria At the other end of therange the volume of water abstracted from groundwater resources was at least fifteen times as high as thevolume of surface water abstraction in Denmark (2014 data) and Malta

France (2010 data) Germany (2010 data) and Spain (2014 data) recorded the highest amounts of groundwaterabstracted with 60 billion m3 58 billion m3 and 63 billion m3 respectively Looking at the development ofgroundwater abstraction during the 10-year period between 2005 and 2015 (see Table 2 for further informationon the availability of data for each country) the volume of groundwater extracted generally decreased over timealthough Latvia Greece and Malta (with increases of 53 49 and 32 ) were notable exceptions and toa lesser extent Denmark (with an increase of 17 ) while Estonia (-27 ) and Hungary (-17 ) were the EUMember States recording the largest decrease in their groundwater abstraction

Water statistics 5

As for groundwater the largest volumes of surface water abstraction among the EU Member States wererecorded in France (2012 data) Germany (2010 data) and Spain (2014 data) with 244 billion m3 272 bil-lion m3 and 266 billion m3 respectively Between 2005 and 2015 (see Table 2 for further information on theavailability of data for each country) there was a considerable increase in surface water abstraction in Romania(+28 ) The largest decreases in the volume of surface water abstraction were recorded in Lithuania (-89 )Slovakia (-53 ) and Denmark (-44 ) while there were also reductions of at least 20 recorded in LatviaGreece the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom

Non-freshwater (in other words sea water and transitional water such as brackish swamps lagoons and estu-arine areas) is also abstracted in some of the EU Member States (see Table 3) Sweden (118 billion m3 2010data) the United Kingdom (85 billion m3 2012 data) the Netherlands (59 billion m3 2014 data) and France(47 billion m3 2013 data) recorded the highest volumes of water abstracted from non-freshwater sources

Table 3 Total gross abstraction of non-freshwater sources 2005ndash15(million m3)Source Eurostat(envwatuse)

In 2015 freshwater abstraction by public water supply ranged across the EU Member States from a high of1591 m3 of water per inhabitant in Italy (2012 data) down to a low of 313 m3 per inhabitant in Malta mdash seeFigure 3 Some of the patterns of freshwater abstraction from public supply reflect specific conditions in theEU Member States for example in Ireland (1355 m3 per inhabitant) the use of water from the public supplywas still free of charge for many households while in Bulgaria (1207 m3 per inhabitant) there were particularlyhigh losses from the public network Abstraction rates were also high in some non-EU Member States notablyin Norway (169 m3 per inhabitant 2014 data)

Water statistics 6

Figure 3 Total freshwater abstraction by public water supply 2015(m3 per inhabitant)SourceEurostat (envwatabs)

The development of freshwater abstraction by public water supply is shown for selected EU Member Statesin Figure 4 A comparison of the earliest and latest available annual data between 1990 and 2015 shows thatthere was a marked decrease in abstraction in many of the Member States that joined the EU in 2004 or 2007(the examples of Bulgaria and Poland are shown in the figure) It is likely that the reduction in abstractionobserved in many EU Member States is a result of various factors including the reduction of water lossesthrough improved maintenance of the networks the introduction of water-saving household appliances andan increasing level of awareness concerning the cost or value of water and the environmental consequences ofwasting it Abstraction rates were relatively stable in the majority of the remaining Member States (see theexamples of Belgium and the Netherlands)

Water statistics 7

Figure 4 Total freshwater abstraction by public water supply selected EU Member States1990ndash2015 (million m3)Source Eurostat (envwatabs)

Water usesThe overall use of water resources can be considered sustainable in the long-term in most of Europe Howeverspecific regions may face problems associated with water scarcity this is the case particularly in parts of south-ern Europe where it is likely that efficiency gains in agricultural water use (as well as other uses) will need tobe achieved in order to prevent seasonal water shortages Regions associated with low rainfall high populationdensity or intensive agricultural or industrial activity may also face sustainability issues in the coming yearswhich could be exacerbated by climate change impacts on water availability and water management practices

Water is provided either by public water supply (public or private systems with public access) or is self-supplied(for example private drills) While the share of the public water supply sector in total water abstraction de-pends on the economic structure of a given country and can be relatively small it is nevertheless often the focusof public interest as it comprises the water volumes that are directly used by the population

At the European scale the households and the manufacturing industry are both important users of waterHowever their relative share varies a lot among European countries While in Belgium and the Netherlandswater use by the manufacturing industry is about five times the use by households it is almost equal in Ger-many reflecting the dominance of manufacturing industry in the economy of these countries In contrast incountries with a dominance of the service sector and very little industry the water use by households outweighsthe use by manufacturing by far - the extreme cases being Luxembourg and Cyprus with a share of less than 5 for manufacturing

Water statistics 8

Figure 5 Water use by households and the manufacturing industry from public water supply andself and other supply 2015 (m3 per inhabitant)Source Eurostat (envwatcat) and (envwatind)and (demopop)

Variation is as well visible for the values per inhabitant where for households Greece and Cyprus lead thefield among EU Member States (940 and 917 m3 while the Netherlands and outside the EU Norwayrecord the highest values for water use in manufacturing (1974 and 1988 m3per inhabitant (2014 and 2009datarespectively)

Table 4 provides further information on the use of water from public water supply analysed by economicsector it confirms that the main users of water from public supply in the EU were households

Water statistics 9

Table 4 Water use by economic sector mdash public water supply 2015 (million m3)Source Eurostat(envwatcat)

A majority of the EU Member States for which data are available (see Table 5) reported values for water useby the domestic sector (services and households) more or less stable over time (2005 - 2015) However a strongincrease was recorded in France (+122 2008ndash13 without public water supply for services) Lithuania (+76 2008ndash15) and Greece (+65 2005ndash15) while the only EU country reporting a marked decreases was Slovenia(-15 ) in only 4 years (2012ndash15)

Water statistics 10

Table 5 Use of water by the domestic sector(households and services) mdash all sources 2005ndash15(m3 per inhabitant)Source Eurostat (envwatcat) and (demopop)

Self and other water supply is a major source of water for the manufacturing sector in several EU MemberStates mdash see Table 6 In the Netherlands for example self and other water supply accounted for 35 billionm3 of water use in 2013 while public supply accounted for only 01 billion m3 Similar in Germany wherethe figures were 39 billion m3 and 04 billion m3 respectively (2013 data) The volume of water use from selfand other water supplies was 34 times as high as that from public supply in Poland 26 times as high in theNetherlands (2013 data) and 18 times in Latvia

Water statistics 11

Table 6 Water use in manufacturing by supply category 2005ndash15 (million m3)Source Eurostat(envwatcat) and (envwatind)

Wastewater treatmentOverall there is a development towards a higher proportion of the population being connected to urban wastew-ater treatment plants (see Figure 6) Nowhere was this more true than in Malta where coverage reached almost100 in 2011 mdash up from 20 in 2010 mdash due to the construction of new wastewater treatment plants Figure6 shows six EU Member States (for which there is a complete time series covering the period 2005ndash15) with thehighest growth in connection rates Apart from the rapid increase in connection rates in Malta the next highestrates of change were recorded in Belgium Hungary Poland Bulgaria and Slovenia The highest connectionrates in the EU-28 were recorded in the United Kingdom (100 2014 data estimated) the Netherlands (994 2015) Malta (986 2015 data) Luxembourg (982 2015 data) Spain (969 2014 data) and Germany(962 2013 data)

Water statistics 12

Figure 6 Share of the population connected to urban and other wastewater treatment selectedEU Member States 2005ndash15 ()Source Eurostat (envwwcon)

Table 7 presents information on the proportion of the population connected to at least secondary wastewatertreatment plants This share has also been generally increasing and was above 80 in 15 of the EU MemberStates for which data are available (mixed reference years) The share of the population connected to at leastsecondary wastewater treatment plant rose to above 95 in the United Kingdom (2014 data) the NetherlandsLuxembourg Germany (2013 data) and Austria (2014 data) At the other end of the range less than onein two households were connected to at least secondary urban wastewater treatment plants in Romania andCroatia while the same was also true in Iceland (2010 data) Turkey (2014 data) Albania Serbia and Bosniaand Herzegovina

Water statistics 13

Table 7 Share of the population connected to at least secondary urban wastewater treatment2005ndash15()Source Eurostat (envwwcon)

The residual of wastewater treatment is sewage sludge While the amount of sludge generated per inhabitantdepends on many factors and hence is quite variable the nature of this sludge ndash rich in nutrients but alsooften loaded with high concentrations of pollutants such as heavy metals ndash has led countries to seek differentpathways for its disposal as illustrated in Figure 7

Water statistics 14

Figure 7 Sewage sludge disposal from urban wastewater treatment by type of treatment 2015(of total dry mass)Source Eurostat (envwwspd)

Typically four different types of disposal make up a considerable share of the total volume of sewage sludgetreated at least 70 of the total was used as fertiliser for agricultural use in four of the EU Member Statesmdash Portugal Ireland the United Kingdom and Spain (data refer to 2012 except for Ireland where the latestinformation available is for 2015) sa well as Norway and Albania By contrast around two thirds of sewagesludge was composted in Estonia (2013 data) and Hungary (2015) rising to 886 and 754 of the totalrespectively Alternative forms of sewage disposal may be used to reduce or eliminate the spread of pollutantson agricultural or gardening land these include incineration and landfill While the Netherlands GermanySlovenia and Austria (as well as Switzerland) reported incineration as their principal form of treatment fordisposal discharge into controlled landfills was practised as the principal type of treatment in Malta (where itwas the sole form of treatment) Croatia Romania and Italy as well as Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Data sources and availabilityMany of the water statistics produced by Eurostat have been used in the context of the development of EU leg-islation relating to water as well as for environmental assessments which in turn can give rise to new data needs

Water statistics are collected through the inland waters section of the joint OECD Eurostat questionnairewhich is an established data collection yielding long time series but which can also be adapted to meet thedemands of relevant policy frameworks It currently reports on the following

bull freshwater resources in groundwater and surface water mdash these can be replenished by precipitation andexternal inflow (water flowing into a country from other territories)

Water statistics 15

bull water abstraction mdash a major pressure on resources although a large part of the water abstracted fordomestic industrial (including energy production) or agricultural use may be returned to the environmentand its water bodies (although often as wastewater with impaired quality)

bull water use mdash analysed by supply category and by industrial activities

bull treatment capacities of urban wastewater treatment plants and the share of the population connected tothem mdash which gives an overview of the development status of the infrastructure in terms of quantity andquality that is available for the protection of the environment from pollution by wastewater

bull sewage sludge production and disposal mdash an inevitable product of wastewater treatment processes itsimpact on the environment depends on the methods chosen for its processing and disposal

bull generation and discharge of wastewater mdash pollutants present in wastewater have different source profilesand similarly the efficiency of treatment of any pollutant varies according to the method applied1

National data are generally collected However some variables are also requested for river basin districts (ac-cording to the EU Water Framework Directive see rsquoContextrsquo below) by means of a regional questionnaire forsome of the categories above

A large amount of data and other information on water is accessible via WISE the water information systemfor Europe which is hosted by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in Copenhagen

ContextWater policies floods droughts and other challengesThe central element of European water policy is a Directive for rsquo Community action in the field of water policyrsquo (200060EC) mdash often referred to as the Water Framework Directive (WFD) mdash which aims to achieve a goodecological and chemical status of European waters The WFD focused on water management at the level of(in most cases transboundary) hydrological catchments (river basins) An important step in the course of itsimplementation involved establishing river basin management plans

The EU adopted in 2006 the Groundwater Directive 2006118EC on the protection of groundwater againstpollution and deterioration which complements the WFD and sets groundwater quality standards and intro-duces measures to prevent or limit inputs of pollutants into groundwater This Directive was under consultationfor the review of the Directiversquos annexes until October 2013

In a Communication rsquo Addressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts rsquo (COM(2007) 414 final) theEuropean Commission identified an initial set of policy options to be taken regionally nationally and acrossthe EU to address water scarcity within the EU This set of proposed policies which was reviewed and furtherdeveloped by 2012 aimed to move the EU towards a water-efficient and water-saving economy as both thequality and availability of water are considered as major concern in many regions

An increase of variability in weather patterns and catastrophic floods (such as those along the Danube andElbe in 2002) prompted a review of flood risk management procedures in the EU This process culminated inthe adoption of the Floodsrsquo Directive 200760EC which provides for an assessment of and the managementof flood risks setting out clear deadlines for establishing preliminary flood risk assessments of river basins andcoastal zones developing flood hazard maps and flood risk maps and developing flood risk management plansfor areas likely to be affected by flooding with particular emphasis on protection and prevention as well aspreparedness

The sustainable use of water resources is a key priority and challenge in Europe particularly in view of anypotential changes in water availability and quality due to climate change In 2009 the EU adopted a WhitePaper on rsquo Adapting to climate change towards a European framework for action rsquo (COM(2009) 147 final)which fosters the development of strategies for the management and conservation of water

In May 2012 the European Commission proposed a European innovation partnership (EIP) on water and1Discharges from cooling water are not regarded as wastewater in water statistics

Water statistics 16

this was endorsed by the Council the following month The objective of the EIP on water is to support andfacilitate the development of innovative solutions to deal with the many water-related challenges that are facedin Europe (and in a wider context across the world) as well providing economic support to encourage suchideas to reach the marketplace

WastewaterIn an effort to reduce pollutants discharged into the environment with wastewater the EU has implementedlegislation on urban wastewater treatment (Directive 1991271EC) The pollution of rivers lakes and ground-water and water quality is affected by human activities such as industrial production household discharges orarable farming a report (COM(2007) 120 final) on the protection of waters against pollution by nitrates fromagricultural sources was released in March 2007

Another aspect of water quality relates to coastal bathing waters The European Commission and the EEApresent an annual bathing water report The latest of these mdash the 2017 report mdash covers information for 2016and shows that 95 of the EUrsquos bathing waters met the minimum water quality standards

Blueprint to safeguard Europersquos water resourcesThese policy developments were further developed in the rsquo Blueprint to safeguard Europersquos water resources rsquo(COM20120673) which integrates the results of a policy review concerning water scarcity and droughts ananalysis of the implementation of river basin management under the WFD a review of the vulnerability of envi-ronmental resources (such as water biodiversity and soil) to climate change impacts and man-made pressuresand a review of the whole of the EUrsquos water policy framework in the light of the European Commissionrsquos rsquobetterregulationrsquo approach The blueprint is closely related to the Europe 2020 strategy and in particular to theresource efficiency roadmap (COM(2011) 571) However the blueprint covers a longer time span through to2050 and is expected to drive EU water policy over the long term As part of the blueprint there are a numberof policy reviews assessing implementation

During the fourth European water conference in March 2015 policymakers stressed the improvements made indelivering improved water quality and better quantitative management of water while underlining that progressin some areas had not gone far enough or been delivered at a rapid enough pace The conference also underlinedincreased flood and drought risks that may be associated with climate change and the need to develop greeninfrastructure such as water retention measures alongside more traditional engineering solutions The confer-ence also highlighted the need for priority investment for green and blue growth with the goal of placing watercentre stage as regards a set of new proposals for promoting the effective reuse of water It highlighted thatfinancial support for such initiatives could be available from the EU to help implement the Water Frameworkand Floods Directives (for example the Rural and Regional Development Funds the Cohesion Fund Horizon2020 LIFE and the EIP)

See alsobull Agri-environmental indicator - irrigation

bull Waste statistics

Further Eurostat informationPublications

bull Energy transport and environment indicators pocketbook 2014 edition

bull Environmental statistics and accounts in Europe Eurostat 2010

Main tablesbull Water

Water statistics 17

Databasebull Water

Methodology Metadatabull Water statistics on national level (ESMS metadata file mdash envnwatesms)

Dedicated Sectionbull Water

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)bull Water statistics tables and figures

Other informationbull Jordi Raso rsquo Updated report on wastewater reuse in the European Union rsquo 2013

bull Communication rsquoA blueprint to safeguard Europersquos water resourcesrsquo (COM(2012) 673 final)

bull Communication rsquoAddressing the challenge of water scarcity and droughts in the European Unionrsquo (COM(2007)414 final)

bull Directive 200760EC of 23 October 2007 on the assessment and management of flood risks

bull DWORAK T et al rsquo EU Water Saving Potential - Final Report rsquo 2007

bull Report on the Implementation of the Water Framework Directive (200060EC) of 23 October 2000concerning River Basin Management Plans (COM(2012) 670 final)

bull Directive 2006118EC of 12 December 2006 on the protection of groundwater against pollution anddeterioration

bull Cosgrove WJ and Rijsberman F R World Water Vision - Making water everybodyrsquos business Earth-scan Publications Ltd London 2000

bull Report on implementation of Directive 91676EEC of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection ofwaters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources

bull Directive 91271EEC of 1 May 1991 concerning urban wastewater treatment

bull Report on rsquo Green Public Procurement Criteria for Waste Water Infrastructure rsquo EC 2013

External linksbull European Commission - Environment - Bathing water quality

bull European Commission - Environment - Water

bull European Environment Agency - Water themes and data

bull OECD - Environment - Managing Water for All

bull WISE (Water Information System for Europe)

bull World Health Organization - Water

bull European Federation of National Associations of Water Services

bull AQUASTAT database on water resources and uses

NotesView this article online at http ec europa eu eurostat statistics-explained index php Water_statistics

Water statistics 18