Water savings for a water-resilient Europe

This briefing is underpinned by a report from the European Topic Centre on Biodiversity and Ecosystems (ETC BE): Contributions of water saving to a climate resilient Europe. This can be consulted for further information and for detailed definitions of the terms used in this briefing.

Water scarcity continues to impact the EU

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, and it faces increasing pressure from climate change; this is threatening seasonal water availability (EEA, 2024a). Annually about 30% of the EU’s land area experiences seasonal water scarcity (EEA, 2025a). When water is scarce, economic sectors such as agriculture face yield losses and higher water costs. Thermal and hydropower plants are not able to produce as much electricity, which increases energy prices (EEA, 2021). In industries with a high demand for water there can be production slowdowns or shutdowns during periods of water scarcity (EEA, 2021).

The EU abstracts about 200,000 million cubic metres (m³) of water annually, excluding water abstraction for hydropower (EEA, 2025, 2024b).  Since 2010, abstraction has increased in almost all sectors, notably in agriculture, industry and the public water supply, while it has only decreased in electricity — power plant cooling (EEA, 2025b, 2024b). 

Future projections indicate worsening water scarcity due to climate change and increasing demand for water, particularly in southern Europe and densely populated areas (EEA, 2023; Bisselink et al., 2018), exposing ecosystems and economies to heightened risks. Further improvements in water efficiency will be essential in order to strengthen the ecosystem and socio-economic resilience in the face of increasing seasonal variations in water availability.

Water efficiency in EU policies

Various EU environmental and water policies address the sustainable use of water resources. The EU WFD (EU, 2000) promotes sustainable water use based on the long-term protection of available water resources. Additionally, various aspects of water efficiency are addressed in the following: 

• legislation such as the Energy Efficiency Directive (EU, 2023), Water Reuse Regulation (EU, 2020a), EU Taxonomy Directive (EU, 2020d), Drinking Water Directive (EU, 2020b) and Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (EU, 2024); eco schemes under the common agricultural policy (EC, 2023) 

• The EU strategy on adaptation to climate change; Commission communication on managing climate risk (EC, 2024); 

• The circular economy action plan (EU, 2020b); 

Nevertheless, management of Europe’s water has not yet been sufficiently adapted to address the rapid and large-scale changes driven by climate change and over-exploitation and this is a threat to water security (EEA, 2024a). To tackle this challenge, the European Water Resilience Strategy aims to restore and protect the water cycle, build a water-smart economy and secure clean and affordable water and sanitation for all (EC, 2025b). In addition, the European Commission has also adopted a recommendation on guiding principles of water efficiency (EC, 2025a), highlighting the need to take all necessary measures for the reduction of water demand, as a priority above the exploitation of additional water resources. The strategy and recommendation on water efficiency also set an EU wide target for enhancing water efficiency by 10% until 2030.  In this context, there is an increased focus on achieving water savings across all sectors.

Key sectors for enhancing water efficiency

The economic sectors with the highest water abstraction levels also have high water-saving potential and could therefore be considered priority areas for implementing efficiency measures. These sectors include cooling power plants for electricity production, agriculture, public water supply and industry.

In the EU, during the 2000-2022 period, cooling power plants for electricity production accounted for 36% of total water abstraction, followed by agriculture at 29%. The public water supply — covering drinking water, household usage and tourism — accounted for 19% of total water abstraction, while manufacturing accounted for 14% of total water abstraction (EEA, 2024b). Together, these four sectors were responsible for 98% of total water abstraction within economic sectors in the EU.

The distribution of water abstraction in different sectors varies significantly across Europe, as it depends on the structure of each national economy (Map 1). Nevertheless, the sectors listed above generally have the potential to make significant water savings at the EU level (Table 1).

Map 1. Economic sectors with the highest water abstraction pressure at the country level, 2000-2022

Table 1. Estimated water-saving potential per sector in the EU-27

Electricity — power plant cooling

Electricity is the sector with the highest demand for water, accounting for 36% of total water abstraction (excluding hydropower) in the EU. Despite a decreasing trend, 65% of Europe’s electricity production still relies on water for cooling.  

It should be noted that the electricity sector is vulnerable to climate change impacts. Rising water temperatures or seasonal water shortages, for instance, may cause operations to be halted.  In Sweden, the Ringhals nuclear plant had to suspend its operations in July 2018 when seawater temperatures reached 25°C, a rare event for northern Europe (Vattenfall, 2018). 

Due to the replacement of combustion plants with wind turbines and solar power, it is estimated that gains in water efficiency in this sector will result in a reduction by around 25% in the sector’s total water abstraction in the EU by 2050 (Hidalgo Gonzalez et al., 2020).

Overall, shifting to cooling systems and fuels that are less water-demanding, adopting technical innovations and utilising waste heat from power plants in industry or district heating systems could reduce water abstraction by up to 95%.

Agriculture

The agricultural sector can play a crucial role in enhancing water resilience in the EU, with a particular focus on southern Europe. This region currently accounts for 60% of the EU-27’s total agricultural water abstraction (EEA, 2024b). Due to climate change, a growing share of Europe’s total agricultural area is expected to require irrigation in the future, along with higher irrigation demand in areas that are already irrigated (Bisselink et al., 2020).

The water saving potential in irrigated agriculture is up to 20% of total water abstraction. Reducing losses and leakages in water distribution, replacing surface irrigation with drip or subsurface irrigation, smart farming and selecting drought-resistant crops are among the key measures that can improve water efficiency in this sector. For example, reducing water losses in distribution systems in southern and eastern Europe could decrease water abstraction by 11% and 8%, respectively, at the regional level. Individual measures, such as replacing surface irrigation with drip irrigation, could save 10-40% on the water currently used.

Digitalisation and smart irrigation systems that integrate satellite-based monitoring, digital modelling of the water demands of crops and interactive decision-making processes have the potential to offer significant gains in water efficiency. The web-based irrigation system IRRINET in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, exemplifies this approach. It provides advice to more than 12,000 farms and schedules irrigation on a daily basis via a web interface, SMS and tablet app. It has reduced agricultural water demand by 20% annually without compromising crop yields. The system has also lowered energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from water pumping (Climate-ADAPT, 2022; Irriframe, 2023).

The public water supply — households and tourism

The public water supply primarily provides water for households (77%) and services (12%). Although population size is a key driver of water demand in the public water supply sector, water abstraction for the public water supply is notably disproportional between regional populations. For example, only 30% of the EU’s total population lives in southern Europe but water abstraction by the public water supply in this region accounts for 42% of the EU total (Figure 1). Factors contributing to regional differences can include adverse climatic conditions, higher per capita water use, the impact of tourism on water demand, infrastructure leakages and suboptimal use of water-saving incentives in pricing policies.

Figure 1. Regional distribution of total population and water abstraction for the public water supply in the EU-27, 2000-2022

A reduction of water abstraction for public water supply by 20-50% overall is potentially feasible. Nearly 33% of water abstraction for the public water supply in the EU is lost before reaching the actual users. In some Member States, such as in Bulgaria, Croatia and Italy, losses exceed 40%. Countries like Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands have successfully reduced losses and leakages to below 15% of the total public water supply (EurEau, 2021). Flagship actions for building a water-smart economy — identified in the European Water Resilience Strategy (EC, 2025b) and European Commission recommendation on guiding principles of water efficiency first (EC, 2025a) — include reducing leakages and modernising infrastructure.

Ireland, for example, loses about 38% of its treated water to leaks, mainly due to aging underground pipes. The Irish National Leakage Reduction Programme is repairing bursts and fixing leaks in collaboration with local authorities. As a result, leakage rates dropped from 46% in 2018 to 38% by 2021, putting Ireland on track to meet its national target to lose no more than 25% of water to leaks by 2030 (Uisce Éireann, 2021). 

Using more water-efficient household appliances and reducing unbilled but authorised consumption can also improve water efficiency in this sector.

The tourism industry plays a pivotal role in shaping economies and connecting cultures. Europe is a hotspot for global tourism with significant growth of up to 7.5% per year expected until 2034 (European Travel Commission, 2022; FMI, 2024). The European tourism sector accounts for about 5% of total water abstraction in the public water supply. Though seemingly small, this demand places additional pressure on water-scarce areas of southern Europe, particularly the Mediterranean coast and islands. On average, tourists consume 300-2,000 litres per person per day (l/person/day), far exceeding the 124 l/person/day used by residents (EurEau, 2022; Dworak et al., 2007). Open green spaces, hotels, pools, restaurants and ski resorts are among the major water consumers in the tourism sector. 

Actions — such as water audits, leak repairs, replacing water-intensive devices and improved water-use practices in open green spaces (such as the use of reclaimed water) — can enhance water efficiency in the tourism sector. These measures have the potential to reduce sectoral water use by 10-30%. However, it should be noted that this figure includes uncertainties stemming from the limited availability of data.

Industry

Water abstraction for industry in Europe accounts for 14% of total annual water abstraction in the EU-27. Regional variations are significant; western Europe accounts for 47% of total water abstraction for industry, while eastern Europe accounts for 13%. Similar disparities exist in water use intensity, with the amount of water used per unit of economic output varying between regions. For example, western Europe abstracts 8m³ of water per EUR 1,000 of economic output, expressed in equivalent purchasing power, compared to 21m³ in eastern Europe.

Within industry, the production of steel, pulp and paper, as well as food and beverages is highly dependent on water. This means that these are all areas that have the potential to reduce water abstraction by 30-50% through technological innovations, water recycling and reuse.

This kind of efficiency has been exemplified by the Flemish brewery Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck, which reduced its water use by 9% using optimised cleaning and washing machinery; meanwhile, the Duvel Moortgat Brewery achieved a 25% reduction in water use by installing new equipment for water reuse (Fevia, 2021).

Diversifying water supply to improve the EU’s water resilience

As water scarcity becomes more persistent and worsens in areas that have long been under stress, water reuse, desalinated water and rainwater harvesting can serve as additional water supply sources. Diversifying the water supply may not reduce the overall abstraction of water but it could enhance resilience to droughts and water scarcity, particularly during periods of low water availability.

The EU Water Reuse Regulation (EU, 2020c) took effect in June 2023, with the aim of ensuring that reclaimed water is safe for agricultural irrigation and that human health and the environment are safeguarded in the context of reusing water. Implementing the regulation can significantly reduce water quality risks and make reclaimed water a safer and more viable solution for addressing future water scarcity.

Water reuse is currently low, accounting for only about 0.3% of total annual freshwater abstraction in the EU (EC, 2018; Eurostat, 2022). In terms of volume, this amounts to approximately 650 million m³; in contrast, it is estimated that 6,600 million m³ of water in the EU could be reclaimed annually (JRC, 2017).

Water scarcity is not currently a significant issue in every Member State and the practice of water reuse is optional for Member States; according to the Water Reuse Regulation, they can decide that water reuse is not appropriate in their territory or in part of their territory. However, certain Member States with significant water scarcity issues have been practicing water reuse for years. For example, Cyprus and Malta are already reusing over 90% and 60% of their treated wastewater, respectively (EC, 2018).

It is estimated that using reclaimed water could theoretically replace 45% of agricultural abstraction in France and Italy, 20% in Portugal and Spain, and 10% in Greece, Malta and Romania, save for various technical and financial constraints (JRC, 2017). The European Commission plans to evaluate the feasibility of extending the scope of the Water Reuse Regulation to cover the use of reclaimed water for purposes other than agricultural irrigation (EU, 2020c).

Another way to diversify water supply is desalination of brackish water or seawater. Although only 1.4% of the total public water supply in the EU is abstracted in this way, desalination is expected to increase. This is due to technical improvements reducing the cost of the technique alongside subsidies provided by public authorities in certain regions (EC, 2022). In Cyprus and Malta, already 50% of the total public water supply in 2021 came from desalinated water. Desalination is also practiced in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Two measures are key to ensuring that the use of desalinated water is sustainable:  use of renewable energy in the desalination process, storage and distribution; and minimisation of the impacts of brine effluents on marine ecosystems (Pistocchi et al., 2020).

Rainwater harvesting has been used in various parts of the world. It can be a sustainable and cost-effective way to meet water needs, especially in areas with limited access to freshwater. Rainwater harvesting is mainly used in agriculture, industry, the public water supply and tourism. Examples include irrigation of urban green areas in Berlin, airports (e.g. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol) and some golf courses (e.g. Oaks Prague, Belas Clube de Campo). Poland's ‘My Water’ programme saves over 6 million m³ of water annually by increasing the amount of water retained on properties near single-family homes and using stored rainwater and meltwater.

The recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive promotes rainwater harvesting along with natural water retention measures to reduce storm overflow and urban runoff. In this context, however, the available literature underlines the need to develop an effective supply network and sufficient storage infrastructure if this option is to be implemented broadly, which may require a large amount of investment (Kuller et al., 2017; SPER Market Research, 2024; Prinzler and Nolde, 2007; Hofman and Paalman, 2014; Khoury-Nolde and Nolde, 2014).

Outlook

While individual technical and operational measures can achieve gains in water efficiency, it is important for these to be implemented alongside other supporting measures. These include stakeholder engagement, public awareness campaigns, water metering, enforcement of abstraction regulations, water pricing and application of the cost recovery principle.

There is also a strong need to improve the data and information available on water resources and water demand in different sectors in the light of growing uncertainties around seasonal water availability due to climate change. In addition to the water demands for conventional economic sectors, emerging sectors (e.g. hydrogen production and data centres) may create new challenges for water-resource management (Danelski, 2023; Australian Hydrogen Council, 2022). This underscores the importance of addressing both the quantity and quality of water available to meet the evolving needs of society, the economy and the environment — now and in the future.