Water abstraction by source and economic sector in Europe

The Water Framework Directive aims to protect the EU’s water resources by promoting efficient water use and minimising abstraction. From 2000 to 2019, the total volume of water abstracted from surface water and groundwater declined by 15%, with the relative contribution of groundwater to the total volume abstracted increasing from 19% to 23%. A decline in abstraction for cooling in electricity generation contributed significantly to this decrease as this sector accounts for more water abstraction than any other. Abstraction for some sectors increased, however, and more effort is needed to increase water use efficiency overall.

Share of total annual water abstraction by source in the 27 EU Member States, 2000-2019

Water plays an important role in European societies and economies, meeting demands for drinking, food, energy, industry, transport and ecosystems. With the aim of protecting available water resources long term, the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) aims to promote sustainable water use, prevent the further deterioration of water resources, and protect and enhance the status of aquatic ecosystems .

Freshwater demand in the 27 EU Member States (EU-27) is met largely by abstraction from surface waters (rivers, reservoirs and lakes) and groundwater. Monitoring changes in water abstraction from these resources is key to monitoring progress towards meeting the objectives of the WFD and the European Green Deal.

Between 2000 and 2019, total water abstraction per year in the EU-27 decreased by 15%, from about 215,000 million m³ in 2000 to 202,000 million m³ in 2019. However, the relative contributions of surface water and groundwater to the total volume of water abstracted have changed during this period: in 2000, surface water accounted for 81% of abstraction and groundwater for 19%, while, in 2019, surface water accounted for only 77% and groundwater for 23%.

The increase in water abstraction from groundwater can largely be explained by increasing demand in the public water supply and agriculture sectors, with groundwater meeting almost 65% of total public water supply and 25% of agricultural water demands in the EU-27 in 2019. Climate change exacerbating seasonal variability in surface water availability is likely to have contributed to this, as demand for water has increased during spring and summer months when availability of surface water is limited, particularly in southern Europe, causing competition between sectors and driving a shift in water abstraction from surface water to groundwater .

Despite the notable achievements made in decreasing overall water abstraction in the EU in the last 20 years, uncertainty over seasonal water availability is increasing . To manage the risks associated with this, further efforts to increase water use efficiency and adapt to climate change are needed to meet the overall objectives of the WFD and the European Green Deal.

Explore water abstraction by source at the country level.

Water abstraction by economic sector in the 27 EU Member States, 2000-2019

Water is abstracted for use across economic sectors in the EU-27. Abstraction for cooling in electricity generation remained the largest contributor to total annual water abstraction (32%) in 2019, followed by abstraction for agriculture (28%), public water supply (20%), manufacturing (13%) and cooling in manufacturing (5%), with mining and quarrying, and construction accounting for only 1% of total abstraction each.

Between 2000 and 2019, water abstraction declined overall, reflecting policy measures implemented under the WFD. However, while abstraction declined in some sectors, such as for cooling in electricity generation (-27%), it increased in others. For instance, water abstraction for cooling in manufacturing almost tripled, while abstraction for public water supply increased by 4%, with a particularly sharp increase since 2010 (14%). Water abstraction for agriculture decreased overall between 2000 and 2019. However, since 2010 it has increased by 8%, mainly because of the increasing demand for irrigation in southern Europe.

Explore water abstraction by economic sector at the country level

Supporting information

DefinitionMethodology

Water abstraction is presented as million m³ of water abstracted by economic sector from surface water and groundwater. Economic sectors are defined in line with NACE (Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Communities) sections:

· agriculture, forestry and fishing (NACE Section A)

· mining and quarrying (NACE Section B)

· manufacturing (NACE Section C)

· electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (NACE Section D)

· water collection, treatment and supply (NACE Section E — Division 36)

· construction (NACE Section F)

It takes into account the gross volume of water abstracted, including losses and leakages, and excludes water returns from the economy back to the environment.

Policy/environmental relevance

The purpose of the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) is — inter alia — to promote sustainable water use based on the long-term protection of available water resources.

The EU’s new circular economy action plan explicitly addresses water stress and contains provisions for improving resource efficiency in the context of water resource management.

The common agricultural policy (CAP) aims to achieve the production of affordable, safe and good-quality food by implementing environmentally sustainable farming that protects natural resources and landscapes, enhances biodiversity, addresses climate change risks and stimulates the growth of rural communities and economies . Among other things, the CAP supports investments in water conservation, upgrading irrigation infrastructure and training farmers to improve irrigation techniques. This indicator provides information to support the Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework (CMEF) for CAP implementation, which was established by the European Commission. The CMEF includes different sets of indicators on a range of agricultural issues, such as a set of impact indicators measuring the impact of policy interventions.

In addition, the European Green Deal sets out the European Commission’s focus on decoupling economic growth from resource use, by moving to a clean, circular economy, where resources are used more efficiently and the pressures on the environment are decreased. The Farm to fork strategy, which focuses on making food systems more sustainable, is an integral part of the European Green Deal.

Accuracy and uncertainties

The following uncertainties are related to the data sets used for the indicator:

· The reported volumes of water abstracted do not account for unauthorised or unregistered self-abstraction, which is a common issue in some areas.

· Several countries (e.g. France, Greece, Malta, Slovenia) do not report abstraction for agricultural activities other than irrigated crop production (e.g. for animal raising or aquaculture).

· Several countries (e.g. Netherlands, Poland) use dual irrigation/drainage systems (i.e. drainage during wet seasons and submerged irrigation in dry seasons by raising water tables in rivers or groundwater). It is not clear if the reported agricultural abstraction volumes account for these practices.

· Water abstraction for public water supply is associated with high degrees of uncertainty, particularly in tourism hotspot destinations because of double-counting arising from water also being used by tourists at their origins.

· Gap filling the data on water abstraction for agriculture, public water supply, electricity cooling and manufacturing had to be performed because of large gaps in the database for those variables that are associated with high degrees of uncertainty. Therefore, the data used in this indicator assessment may largely deviate from the national data that countries collect. See the additional clarification on the data gap filling methods.

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DPSIRTopicsTagsTemporal coverageGeographic coverage

TypologyUN SDGsUnit of measureFrequency of dissemination

References and footnotes

EU, 2000, Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1-73.

^a^b
EC, 2019, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — The European Green Deal, COM(2019) 640 final.

^a^b^c
EEA, 2021, Water resources across Europe — Confronting water stress: An updated assessment, EEA Report, 12/2021, European Environment Agency.

^a^b
EC, 2020, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — A new circular economy action plan for a cleaner and more competitive Europe, COM(2020) 98 final.

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EC, 2018, Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing rules on support for strategic plans to be drawn up by Member States under the common agricultural policy (CAP strategic plans) and financed by the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF) and by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1305/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EU) No 1307/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, COM(2018) 392 final.

^↵
EC, 2020, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — A farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system, COM(2020) 381 final.

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Water abstraction by source and economic sector in Europe

Figure 1. Share of total annual water abstraction by source in the 27 EU Member States, 2000-2019

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Figure 2. Water abstraction by economic sector in the 27 EU Member States, 2000-2019

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References and footnotes