Water efficiency measures in agriculture and industry could decrease wastage by up to a third, according to a recent report by the European Commission.
The report was the focus of a meeting of European Union (EU) environmental ministers in Lisbon last September. According to the Commission an estimated 40% of the water used in the EU is wasted and this amount was twice as much as it was previously thought.
The report canvassed an initial set of policy options to reduce the amount of water used in Europe and to better manage water resources in the face of estimates that water use in the EU will rise by 16% in the years to 2030. Agriculture uses the most water in the EU accounting for 69% of water, public water supply accounts for 13%, industry for 10% and energy production 8%.
“Further investigation will be needed in the future in order to assess whether increases in water use can be expected in the next 30 years, taking into account continuing growth in economic activity and output – more than 20% in most countries – as well as increased water-use efficiency with technological changes and Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) implementation,” the report stated.
IPPC is a regulatory system to ensure that industry adopts an integrated approach to pollution control.
EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said that water efficiency had to be at the core of the EU’s policies in order to put an end to the tremendous waste of water across Europe.
