Water under threat in Europe
Water is rapidly becoming a focus for policymakers across Europe and beyond. The triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution are having significant and cumulative effects on the quality and quantity of available water across our continent. Water scarcity is already an issue, with 34% of the European Union territory being affected during at least one season in 2022.
Levels of water scarcity have increased since 2010, and with climate change expected to further increase the frequency and intensity of drought events, it is unlikely that the situation will improve by 2030. This means that significant additional efforts are required to ensure sustainable water use. In June 2025, the European Commission published the European Water Resilience Strategy, which includes an EU-wide goal to enhance water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030.
In line with the ’water efficiency first’ principle, reducing abstraction and enhancing efficiency should take priority over increasing supply. Diversifying water resources through reuse, desalination and rainwater harvesting can also enhance resilience, provided there is careful consideration of the impacts of these measures on energy use, climate mitigation, human health and ecosystems.
Pollution is an issue in Europe’s waters, despite decades of pollution control legislation and measures. Waters continue to be impacted by chemicals, predominantly through atmospheric pollution from coal-powered energy generation and diffuse pollution from agriculture. The lack of improvement in chemical status can be partly attributed to long-lived pollutants, such as mercury and brominated flame retardants.
While political frameworks to address water quality are in place, targets are being missed with very real consequences. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) target for European rivers, lakes, transitional, coastal and groundwaters to meet good status by 2015 was not met, and indeed there has been little improvement since 2010.
Challenges in the Baltic Sea region
In the Baltic Sea region specifically, reporting of the third river basin management plans under the WFD showed high levels of failure in the chemical status of surface waters. Pollution, in particular by mercury and brominated flame retardants, causes widespread pollution, likely through deposition from the air. It should be noted that if these long-lived pollutants were not considered, then 75% of surface waters would achieve good chemical status rather than the current figure of just 3%.
For those countries bordering the Baltic Sea for which we have recent, data reported under the WFD (so excluding Finland and Russia), all coastal waters are failing on chemical status. There is also widespread failure of ecological status, with no transitional waters and only 15% of coastal waters registering good status.
The picture is similar when it comes to freshwater. Only 29% of freshwater bodies are in good or high ecological status, while 65% of reported rivers and lakes are failing on ecological status (data still pending for Finland).
Climate change is also affecting the Baltic Sea region. Hydro-climatic extremes in the region since the 1980s have caused over 100,000 deaths and losses of more than 2 billion Euro.
Improving water resilience in a changing climate
Urgent action is required to improve Europe’s water resilience. Climate change is disrupting weather patterns and further increasing pressures on our water resources and ecosystems. Europe’s water management practices are poorly adapted to cope with such rapid and large-scale change, which could compromise water security.
The potential for water savings varies greatly across Europe’s regions and across sectors, but significant reductions in water abstraction are feasible. These could be achieved through technical and operational measures to reduce losses and leakages, as well as by improving water efficiency in electricity production, agriculture, public water supply and manufacturing.
Improving water efficiency by using water-efficient devices and processes, and increasing water reuse, is another key element in tackling water stress. Water pricing can be another important driver for reducing water use and improving efficiency, while at the same time providing a mechanism to fund water investments. Target setting, focused on saving water or reducing demand, can drive action and facilitate the monitoring of progress towards greater water resilience.
Knowledge is power
In addition to everything mentioned above, up-to-date and timely information on water quantity and quality is critical to Europe’s ability to manage water and build resilience. A more robust knowledge base is needed to enable more equitable and sustainable water allocation between competing uses, while also keeping environmental considerations front and centre. Water resilience considerations, management practices and responsibilities at different governance levels vary considerably across Europe. A robust knowledge base also helps effective policy and decision-making, by identifying water resilience challenges and opportunities in specific areas of Europe, such as the Baltic Sea region.
Executive Director
European Environment Agency
