5
DAILY
ACTIONS
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The water availability picture around Europe is very different, with an Southern and south eastern Europe river droughts with an intensity
increase projected in the north and decrease in the south. In certain of once in a 100-year today, may recur every ten to 50 years by the
parts of western Europe, extractions could decrease due to a saturation 2070s, and seven-day river flow averages show severe decreases.
of demand and increasing efficiency of water use. Predicting Too often the responses to water availability have seen governments
sustainable use and consumption of water is a difficult task and varies at local and national level investing in unsustainable projects such as
significantly between country, regional and local level. new and bigger reservoirs, water transfer and desalination plants.
Dramatically, Barcelona planned to ship in water to cope with a Inevitably, as rainfall varies so does a body of opinion suggesting that
serious drought. But Barcelona is not alone. The entire Iberian storing water in dams has advantages. Transfers can help diversify
Peninsula, Turkey and south eastern England are just three parts of supply to regions with different climatic characteristics and reduce
Europe that were affected seriously by drought in 2005, 2006 and 2007. vulnerability to local droughts. But as the Ebro debate in Spain
Although we may consider that water issues are confined to the highlights, dams and transfers also have environmental impacts.
south, we have to remember that Finland implemented new policies Often desalinisation plants are considered as long-term options to
after the 2002-3 drought and France, aiming to provide a better balance cope with longer dry spells. But even if the costs of desalination are
between supply and demand, enacted a new water Act in 2006. declining, their use is unsustainable.
Increases in extreme rainfall events and flash floods will also increase Instead of crises management concentrating on simply increasing
the risk of pollution from storm water overflow and emergency the supply of water, governments and regional authorities must take
discharges from wastewater treatment plants. action to reduce demand. Here, water pricing, reducing water losses
All of these points illustrate the complexity in achieving sustainable and informing on more water-efficient practices all have a part to play.
water management and, importantly, the need for robust and quality Our environment is of course influenced by massive global and
assured data to establish the right policy responses. national factors, but it is also affected by the daily actions, no matter
The European Environment Agency is preparing an indicator report on how small, of each and every European citizen. If we are to bring about
climate change impacts. This shows in detail that over the past 30 years, real improvement, we need to find new ways to inform and involve
Europe has been affected by a number of major droughts. The predictions, citizens in something that is critical to our shared future.
which are in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPPC), confirms a future of more floods and more droughts. In particular,
more severe river flow droughts have been observed in Spain, many parts Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European
of eastern Europe and large parts of the UK. Environment Agency
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