This report presents the state of Europe's water. It outlines three overarching challenges facing future European water management: 1. protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems; 2. achieving the zero pollution ambition; 3. adapting to water scarcity, drought and flood risks. Europe's citizens, environment and economy are intrinsically dependent on water, yet the continuing availability of sufficient, good quality water cannot presently be assured. Major pressures challenging Europe's water resilience include pollution, changes to physical features and natural flow of rivers, and abstraction of water. As set out in the European Climate Risk Assessment (EUCRA) (EEA, 2024a), climate change is a further critical pressure expected to compromise Europe's future water security. Urgent action is required to improve resilience and ensure a secure, sustainable supply of freshwater for people and the environment. EU water policy comprises complementary legislation and strategies which address water from different angles, such as the Water Framework Directive and Water Industry Directives, the newly adopted Nature Restoration Law, the biodiversity strategy for 2030 and the zero pollution action plan (EC, 2021c). Ensuring a balance between competing demands for water is a key challenge for Europe.
Authors
Related Organizations
- Catalogue number
- TH-AL-24-008-EN-N
- Citation
- European Environment Agency, Europe's state of water 2024 – The need for improved water resilience , Publications Office of the European Union, 2024, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2800/02236
- DOI
- https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2800/02236
- ISBN
- 978-92-9480-653-6
- ISSN
- 1977-8449
- Pages
- 110
- Published in
- Belgium
- Themes
- Environment — Ecology
Table of Contents
- _Ref161301810 18
- _Ref161899580 20
- _Ref161899599 20
- _Ref162520984 27
- _Hlk166747552 28
- _Ref161229398 33
- _Ref161229815 33
- _Hlk166748601 35
- _Hlk166748699 38
- _Ref155800079 38
- _Ref155800090 38
- _Ref155800099 38
- _Ref155800111 38
- _Ref155800141 38
- _Ref155801564 38
- _Ref161229420 38
- _Ref161229510 38
- _Ref161899627 38
- _Ref162012520 38
- _Ref162520881 38
- _Ref162521844 38
- _Ref155801467 39
- _Ref155801462 39
- _Hlk166752548 39
- _Ref161899630 42
- _Ref162012535 42
- _Ref161392462 42
- _Ref155801740 48
- _Ref161229471 48
- _Ref162012645 48
- _Ref162012666 48
- _Ref162509877 48
- _Ref162509886 48
- _Ref162511159 48
- _Ref162520042 48
- _Ref161229621 48
- _Ref155801045 49
- _Ref155801036 49
- _Ref161229347 57
- _Ref162533279 57
- _Ref161301226 61
- _Ref155800775 65
- _Ref155800914 65
- _Ref155884575 65
- _Ref161229553 65
- _Ref161229586 65
- _Ref162344356 70
- _Ref164229614 73
- _Hlk166753085 73
- _Ref162335429 79
- _Ref162350749 79
- _Hlk166752168 90
- _Hlk166745052 99
- Acknowledgements 4
- Key messages 5
- Executive summary 8
- 1 Introduction 15
- 1.1 Context and aim of the report 15
- 1.2 Water — a resource under intense and increasing pressure 17
- 1.3 Finding solutions for a more sustainable future 20
- 1.4 A guide to the report 25
- 2 Protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems 26
- 2.1 The ecological status of Europe's surface waters 27
- 2.2 Preserving vulnerable aquatic habitats and species 33
- 2.3 Restoring connectivity of rivers and floodplains 38
- 2.4 Restoring at a landscape scale, including wetlands 42
- 3 Achieving the zero pollution ambition for water 48
- 3.1 Europe's water quality 48
- 3.2 Addressing the main sources of pollution 57
- 3.3 Tackling emerging concerns in water pollution 65
- 4 Adapting to water scarcity, drought and flood risks 69
- 4.1 Groundwater quantitative status and flow regimes 70
- 4.2 Addressing water scarcity and abstraction pressures 73
- 4.3 Living with more frequent and extreme floods and droughts 79
- 5 Summary and outlook 89
- 5.1 Summary 89
- 5.2 Outlook 89
- List of abbreviations 94
- References 95
