The EU Bathing Waters Directive requires Member States to identify popular bathing places in fresh and coastal waters and monitor them for indicators of microbiological pollution (and other substances) throughout the bathing season which runs from May to September

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The marine regions and subregions map and correspondent layers provide information about the geographic boundaries of the areas listed in Article 4 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The map has been developed to support DG Environment and EU Member States in their implementation of the MSFD. It represents the current state of understanding of the marine regions and subregions and is subject to amendment in light of any new information which may be produced.

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In general, renewable water is abundant in Europe. However, signals from long-term climate and hydrological assessments, including on population dynamics, indicate that there was a 24 % decrease in renewable water resources per capita across Europe between 1960 and 2010, particularly in southern Europe.  The densely populated river basins in different parts of Europe, which correspond to 11 % of the total area of Europe, continue to be hotspots for water stress conditions, and, in the summer of 2014, there were 86 million inhabitants in these areas. Around 40 % of the inhabitants in the Mediterranean region lived under water stress conditions in the summer of 2014. Groundwater resources and rivers continue to be affected by overexploitation in many parts of Europe, especially in the western and eastern European basins. A positive development is that water abstraction decreased by around 7 % between 2002 and 2014. Agriculture is still the main pressure on renewable water resources. In the spring of 2014, this sector used 66 % of the total water used in Europe. Around 80 % of total water abstraction for agriculture occurred in the Mediterranean region.  The total irrigated area in southern Europe increased by 12 % between 2002 and 2014, but the total harvested agricultural production decreased by 36 % in the same period in this region. On average, water supply for households per capita is around 102 L/person per day in Europe, which means that there is 'no water stress'. However, water scarcity conditions created by population growth and urbanisation, including tourism, have particularly affected small Mediterranean islands and highly populated areas in recent years. Because of the huge volumes of water abstracted for hydropower and cooling, the hydromorphology and natural hydrological regimes of rivers and lakes continue to be altered. The targets set in the water scarcity roadmap, as well as the key objectives of the Seventh Environment Action Programme in the context of water quantity, were not achieved in Europe for the years 2002–2014.

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This interactive map allows users to explore changes over time in water abstraction by source and water use by sector at sub-basin or river basin scale. The WEI+ has been calculated as the quarterly average per river basin district, for the years 2002-2014, as defined in the European catchments and rivers network system (ECRINS). The ECRINS delineation of river basin districts differs from that defined by Member States under the Water Framework Directive, particularly for transboundary river basin districts.

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The intensity of heavy precipitation events in summer and winter have increased in northern and north-eastern Europe since the 1960s. Different indices show diverging trends for south-western and southern Europe. Heavy precipitation events are likely to become more frequent in most parts of Europe. The projected changes are strongest in Scandinavia and eastern Europe in winter.

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Differences between the end of the 21st century (SRES A1B scenario) and the control period (1961-1990) for minimum discharges (left) and change in occurrence of deficits (right) for climate change only (top row) and a combination of climate change and water use (bottom row).

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Simulated change in mean water-limited crop yield of winter wheat between the baseline period around year 2000 and 2030. The four simulations are a combination of two climate models (HadGEM2 and MIROC, taken from CMIP5 archive and bias-corrected by the ISI-MIP project), and the crop model WOFOST at 25 km spatial resolution, with and without taking into account the effect of CO2 fertilization. Crop variety and agro-management practice have been kept constant. For each time horizon of 2000 and 2030, a 30-year averaging period has been considered. Red colours show a reduction in winter wheat yield, while green colours indicate an increase in crop productivity in the given period as a response to the climate signal of each climate scenario (Araujo Enciso et al., 2014).

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Bathing water monitoring by country. Please note: for the scales 1:5.000.001 and less detailed, data are aggregated by country. In such case, stacked bars show percentage of bathing water quality for coastal and inland waters together. Number of bathing waters within certain category is seen in pop up window which can be turned on with a click on one of the countries. For the scale range 1:5 000.000 to 1:700,001, individual bathing water sites (points) are visible instead of classified stacked charts and are coloured according to the classification of bathing water quality. Symbol size depends on the map scale (in more detailed map scales symbols are bigger). For the scales 1:700,000 and more detailed, symbol of bather in a square appears instead of points. Symbol size depends on the map scale.

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Bathing water quality in the European Union in the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 bathing seasons.

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This figure illustrates the percentage population in Eastern European countries connected to a waste water collection and treatment systems (UWWTPs) over the period 1980 to 2009. In addition, a breakdown by treatment type is portrayed. Slovakia does not report wastewater treatment by treatment type.

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European Union (EU) water policies encourage Member States to implement better water demand management practices. This is a response to the pressures on water resources that are continuously increasing. Management practices on water demand are being revised to improve the existing supply-demand balance and ultimately to bring about a more water-efficient society.

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In the face of challenges like drought and growing demand in many European Union countries, managing water supplies will require a better mix of pricing and non-pricing measures to ensure efficient household water use, according to a new European Environment Agency briefing published today.

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This European Environment Agency (EEA) report contributes to the growing international discourse on the Arctic region. It is both timely and important, since it examines the increasingly rapid changes that are taking place in the Arctic from a European perspective. It considers the national, regional and global challenges and opportunities that are emerging as a result

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More than 85 percent of bathing water sites monitored across Europe in 2016 met the most stringent ‘excellent’ quality standards — meaning they were mostly free from pollutants harmful to human health and the environment, according to the annual bathing water quality report published today. Over 96 percent of bathing water sites met minimum quality requirements set out under European Union rules.

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The EU Bathing Waters Directive requires Member States to identify popular bathing places in fresh and coastal waters and monitor them for indicators of microbiological pollution (and other substances) throughout the bathing season which runs from May to September

Read more

The marine regions and subregions map and correspondent layers provide information about the geographic boundaries of the areas listed in Article 4 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The map has been developed to support DG Environment and EU Member States in their implementation of the MSFD. It represents the current state of understanding of the marine regions and subregions and is subject to amendment in light of any new information which may be produced.

Read more

In general, renewable water is abundant in Europe. However, signals from long-term climate and hydrological assessments, including on population dynamics, indicate that there was a 24 % decrease in renewable water resources per capita across Europe between 1960 and 2010, particularly in southern Europe.  The densely populated river basins in different parts of Europe, which correspond to 11 % of the total area of Europe, continue to be hotspots for water stress conditions, and, in the summer of 2014, there were 86 million inhabitants in these areas. Around 40 % of the inhabitants in the Mediterranean region lived under water stress conditions in the summer of 2014. Groundwater resources and rivers continue to be affected by overexploitation in many parts of Europe, especially in the western and eastern European basins. A positive development is that water abstraction decreased by around 7 % between 2002 and 2014. Agriculture is still the main pressure on renewable water resources. In the spring of 2014, this sector used 66 % of the total water used in Europe. Around 80 % of total water abstraction for agriculture occurred in the Mediterranean region.  The total irrigated area in southern Europe increased by 12 % between 2002 and 2014, but the total harvested agricultural production decreased by 36 % in the same period in this region. On average, water supply for households per capita is around 102 L/person per day in Europe, which means that there is 'no water stress'. However, water scarcity conditions created by population growth and urbanisation, including tourism, have particularly affected small Mediterranean islands and highly populated areas in recent years. Because of the huge volumes of water abstracted for hydropower and cooling, the hydromorphology and natural hydrological regimes of rivers and lakes continue to be altered. The targets set in the water scarcity roadmap, as well as the key objectives of the Seventh Environment Action Programme in the context of water quantity, were not achieved in Europe for the years 2002–2014.

Read more

This interactive map allows users to explore changes over time in water abstraction by source and water use by sector at sub-basin or river basin scale. The WEI+ has been calculated as the quarterly average per river basin district, for the years 2002-2014, as defined in the European catchments and rivers network system (ECRINS). The ECRINS delineation of river basin districts differs from that defined by Member States under the Water Framework Directive, particularly for transboundary river basin districts.

Read more

The intensity of heavy precipitation events in summer and winter have increased in northern and north-eastern Europe since the 1960s. Different indices show diverging trends for south-western and southern Europe. Heavy precipitation events are likely to become more frequent in most parts of Europe. The projected changes are strongest in Scandinavia and eastern Europe in winter.

Read more

Differences between the end of the 21st century (SRES A1B scenario) and the control period (1961-1990) for minimum discharges (left) and change in occurrence of deficits (right) for climate change only (top row) and a combination of climate change and water use (bottom row).

Read more

Simulated change in mean water-limited crop yield of winter wheat between the baseline period around year 2000 and 2030. The four simulations are a combination of two climate models (HadGEM2 and MIROC, taken from CMIP5 archive and bias-corrected by the ISI-MIP project), and the crop model WOFOST at 25 km spatial resolution, with and without taking into account the effect of CO2 fertilization. Crop variety and agro-management practice have been kept constant. For each time horizon of 2000 and 2030, a 30-year averaging period has been considered. Red colours show a reduction in winter wheat yield, while green colours indicate an increase in crop productivity in the given period as a response to the climate signal of each climate scenario (Araujo Enciso et al., 2014).

Read more

Bathing water monitoring by country. Please note: for the scales 1:5.000.001 and less detailed, data are aggregated by country. In such case, stacked bars show percentage of bathing water quality for coastal and inland waters together. Number of bathing waters within certain category is seen in pop up window which can be turned on with a click on one of the countries. For the scale range 1:5 000.000 to 1:700,001, individual bathing water sites (points) are visible instead of classified stacked charts and are coloured according to the classification of bathing water quality. Symbol size depends on the map scale (in more detailed map scales symbols are bigger). For the scales 1:700,000 and more detailed, symbol of bather in a square appears instead of points. Symbol size depends on the map scale.

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Bathing water quality in the European Union in the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 bathing seasons.

Read more

This figure illustrates the percentage population in Eastern European countries connected to a waste water collection and treatment systems (UWWTPs) over the period 1980 to 2009. In addition, a breakdown by treatment type is portrayed. Slovakia does not report wastewater treatment by treatment type.

Read more