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Water Scarcity Output First draft – 31 march 2005

MED Joint Process WFD /EUWI

WATER SCARCITY DRAFTING GROUP

DOCUMENT:

BEST PRACTICES ON WATER SCARCITY

INTRODUCTION

FIRST DRAFT PROJECT


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Because of the recent drought events the informal meeting of Water Directors of the European Union (EU) held in Italy Roma, November 2003, agreed to take an initiative on water scarcity issue. A core group led by France and Italy has prepared a “best practice document” on drought management and long term imbalances issues to be presented to the Water Directors meeting in June 2006.

The document at hand concerns the “best practice document”, which is the result of the water scarcity drafting group. It aims to describe measures and best practices in order to provide and share information, and possible actions to react on scarcity issues. It is a living document that will need continuous input and improvements as application and exeprience build up in all countries of the European Union and beyond. The best document consists of five chapters. Chapter I presents the more basic principles and approached as introduction. In chapter II the definitions and assessment of the different phenomena are described. Chapter III concerns how to manage and plan drought events. Chapter IV concerns long term imbalances in supply and demand. The conclusions are drawn in Chapter V.

Important issues regarding water scarcity are :

Drought planning and management Long term imbalances

INTRODUCTION

TABLE OF CONTENDS

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................ 5A Values Brought about by Water Availability in Adequate Quantity and Quality................5B Quantitative and Qualitative Issues in the WFD Articles..................................................6C Europe’s Actions to Avert Water Scarcity.........................................................................6

C.1 European Research Policies..................................................................................6C.2 Regional Policies vis-à-vis Water Resources Management (WRM)....................7C.3 Environmental Policies and WRM.........................................................................7C.4 International Cooperation with Mediterranean Partners.....................................8

D Existing Gaps................................................................................................................... 8E Links with Article 17 and Groundwater Daughter Directive..............................................9

CHAPTER I DEFINITIONS AND ASSESSMENTOF THE DIFFERENT PHENOMENA......10A Preamble........................................................................................................................ 10B Definition and Assessment of Drought...........................................................................10

B.1 Drought due to Natural Factors...........................................................................14B.2 Drought due to Anthropogenic Factors..............................................................16B.3 Drought Impacts per Sector.................................................................................18B.4 Drought Perceptions in Different Climatic Zones..............................................22

C Definition of Supply/Demand Imbalances......................................................................24C.1 Water Shortage.....................................................................................................24C.2 Water Scarcity.......................................................................................................24C.3 Water Stress..........................................................................................................24C.4 Water demand management................................................................................25C.5 Water conservation...............................................................................................25

D Assessment of Supply/Demand Imbalances..................................................................27D.1 Available Resources for Water Supply (Quantity/Quality)................................27D.2 Different Uses Inciting Water Demand................................................................35D.3 Prioritised Uses in Different Climatic Zones......................................................38

E Common Perception of Water Balances and Droughts (Conclusions / Recommendations)...............................................................................................................39F REFERENCES..............................................................................................................39

CHAPTER II DROUGHT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT................................................41A BACKGROUND.............................................................................................................41B INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS.....................................................44C DROUGHT CHARACTERIZATION: HISTORICAL ANALYSIS......................................44

C.1 Historical droughts characterisation..................................................................44C.2 Historical drought analysis: what has happened? What has been done?......44C.3 Drought Diagnosis: what have we learned?.......................................................45

D DROUGHT AWARENESS: PERMANENT MONITORING............................................45D.1 Indicator system and thresholds.........................................................................45D.2 Monitor system calibration with historical droughts.........................................45D.3 Drought management and monitor system links..............................................45D.4 Indicators and Water Frame Work.......................................................................45

E DROUGHT MITIGATION PLANNING: STRATEGIC PLANNING..................................45E.1 Identify group of risk and its vulnerability for different hazards......................45E.2 Prepare Drought Plan...........................................................................................46E.3 Measures to be taken under exceptional circumstances to be stated in the River Management Plan (priorities for water use during drought emergencies)......46E.4 Extreme temporal thresholds to relax water bodies good status requirements

46F PREPAREDNESS, PREVENTION AND PROACTIVE DROUGHT MANAGEMENT: NECESSARY DROUGHT FRAMEWORK............................................................................46

F.1 Improving the effectiveness of water use...........................................................46F.2 Economical, institutional and legal agreements................................................46F.3 Education Programs. Social awareness.............................................................46F.4 Research................................................................................................................46

G COMMON PRINCIPLES: MAIN CONCLUSIONS..........................................................46

INTRODUCTION

G.1 Integrated water management and sustainable use of water...........................46G.2 Drought is not permanent water scarcity...........................................................46G.3 Particular features of drought in Mediterranean countries...............................46G.4 Need for drought preparedness..........................................................................46G.5 Drought management instead of crisis management........................................46G.6 Most effective measures......................................................................................46

CHAPTER III LONG TERM IMBALANCES IN SUPPLY AND DEMAND...............................47A Preamble........................................................................................................................ 47B Type of Management Measures for Fulfilling Demands Using Available Water.............48

B.1 Demand-Side Measures.......................................................................................48B.2 Supply-Side Measures..........................................................................................50

C Efficiency of Proposed Measures per Catchment..........................................................51C.1 Environmental Concerns (WFD)..........................................................................51C.2 Social Concerns....................................................................................................51C.3 Economic Profitability..........................................................................................51

D Common Principles (Conclusions and Recommendations)...........................................51

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Freshwater is no longer taken for granted as a plentiful resource, always available. More and more people in more and more countries, among which the EU is no exception, are experiencing droughts – as individuals in their day-to-day lives and as communities and nations. Today, many European countries are subject to waves of water deficit that affect their people and the ecosystems they depend on. Recent 2003 events have further demonstrated how socio-economic factors, driving the demand for water, have made even the wettest parts of Europe vulnerable to drought.

In addition to drought impacts, an overexploitation of water resources in some European countries, especially for agriculture, increase the risk of water deficit and, consequently, environmental hazards. Unsustainable consumption and production patterns are degrading ecosystems and reducing their ability to provide essential goods and services to humankind. Reversing this threat and achieving sustainability will require an integrated approach to managing water and ecosystems, one that takes into account socio-economic and environmental needs.

The problem of water deficit resulting from resource overexploitation is further exacerbated by a global warming that is likely to make precipitation patterns more variable, changing the patterns of water availability in Europe on quantitative, temporal and/or seasonal basis. Alternative approaches have, therefore, to be found to meet the water requirements for development activities. These new approaches are being driven by a growing awareness of the values brought about by an adequate water availability both in terms of quantity and quality.

The document at hand concerns the “best practice document”, which is the result of the water scarcity drafting group. It aims to describe measures and best practices in order to provide and share information, and possible actions to react on scarcity issues.

This best practice document concerns different types of definitions, issues, and related actions treated through two phenomena leading to different actions and effects : drought events management and water scarcity resulting from supply-demand imbalances.

This best practice document concerns surface and groundwater resources.

The character of the best practice document is strategic rather than technical.

This chapter highlights the concerns of applying the Water Framework Directive (WFD) articles that target drought issues from a global perspective. Integrating an ecosystem approach, the many values of freshwater echoed in our life are highlighted and the actions to deal with Europe’s vulnerability to water crises underlined. The existing gaps in the currently undertaken measures to mitigate drought impacts are then brought into focus. This consequently leads to an identification of what remains to be done to achieve a sustainable water management.

A Values Brought about by Water Availability in Adequate Quantity and Quality

Many of the services water provides are irreplaceable and thus invaluable. For centuries, humanity has been enjoying an unlimited use of the “ever available” freshwater. Those days are over, as reflected by the recurrent water shortages and their impacts on ecosystems around the world and notably in Europe. It is time to recognise the value of all the services that water provides, and to ensure that the services are sustainably enjoyed by humanity and ecosystems alike, based on a set of agreed values that should shape water institutions:

- Life-giving value: Water may well be accepted as a basic human right, necessitating reliable water services for the health and life-ensuring of all.- Social value: Water is central to socio-economic development and job creation. Good water resources development and management plus the establishment of sound water supply

INTRODUCTION

and sanitation systems is nowadays considered a key foundation for growth and social stability.- Value to ecosystems: The irreplaceable services provided by the ecosystems through their use of water include producing food, decomposing organic waste, purifying air, storing and recycling nutrients, absorbing human and industrial wastes and converting them to beneficial uses.- Economic value: Water enables agriculture, fishing, navigation, and hydropower generation, and it is an input for many industries.

B Quantitative and Qualitative Issues in the WFD Articles

There is a Europe-wide awareness of the full range of values water offers for the population’s well-being, from livelihoods, to recreational, aesthetic and cultural values. This recognition is clearly reflected in the Water Framework Directive (WFD), raising the issue of water floods and droughts through its article 1, which:- promotes sustainable water use based on a long-term protection of available water resources- contributes to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts- contributes to provision of the sufficient supply of good quality surface water and groundwater as needed for sustainable balanced and equitable water use.

In addition to providing a mechanism for the development and implementation of a European drought policy, the WFD requires a conservation of the quantitative status of groundwater bodies (balancing abstractions with recharge), thus supporting sustainable water abstraction regimes, even in water stress and shortage situations. It will also be essential to encourage participatory ecosystem-based management, to provide the minimum flow of water to ecosystems for conservation and protection, and to ensure sustainable use of water resources.

C Europe’s Actions to Avert Water Scarcity

There are many challenges to European water management. But there are also many solutions. Much is happening at the community level to the extent that it seems that, for every water problem, someone in the continent has devised a solution or is developing one. Though not necessarily applicable in other environments, these solutions can demonstrate the capability of individuals to adapt to the rising challenges of drought and water allocation.

C.1 European Research Policies

C.1.1 Directorate General of Research

The Directorate General’s mission is evolving as work on the European Research Area (ERA) continues. It can be summarised as follows:

- to develop the European Union’s policy in the field of research and technological development and thereby contribute to the international competitiveness of European industry; - to coordinate European research activities with those carried out at the level of the Member States; - to support the Union’s policies in other fields such as environment, health, energy, regional development etc;- to promote a better understanding of the role of science in modern societies and stimulate a public debate about research-related issues at European level.

One of the instruments used for the implementation of this policy is the multi-annual Framework Programme which helps to organise and financially support cooperation between universities, research centres and industries - including small and medium sized enterprises.

INTRODUCTION

C.1.2 Joint Research Centre

In carrying out the various tasks of the Directorate General, work is closely carried out with other Commission departments such as the Joint Research Centre. The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national.

C.1.3 ARID Cluster

ARID is a cluster of EC dealing with water resources use and management in arid and semi-arid regions. The ARID cluster operates by linking thematically complementary projects via (a) project web pages; (b) cross-representation; (c) exchange of data; (d) joint meetings; and (e) workshops.

The ARID cluster includes three research projects on integrated and sustainable Water Resources Management:- WaterStrategyMan (Developing Strategies for Regulating and Managing Water Resources and Demand in Water Deficient Regions) - Medis (Towards Sustainable Water Use on Mediterranean Islands: Addressing Conflicting Demands and Varying Hydrological, Social and Economic Conditions) - Aquadapt (Strategic Tools to Support Adaptive, Integrated Water Resource Management under Changing Utilisation Conditions at Catchment Level: A Coevolutionary Approach)

The ARID Cluster is supported by the European Commission under the Fifth Framework Programme and contributing to the implementation of the Key Action "Sustainable Management and Quality of Water" within the Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development

C.1.4 European Environment Agency

The European Environment Agency (EEA), through its Eurowaternet Quantity surveillance network, complements the information related to freshwater resources and water availability across the European countries. The main aim of such a network is to quantify pressures and impacts, to give answers to specific policy responses or mitigation measures, and to provide comparable and reliable information on the quantitative aspects of freshwater resources.

The EEA goals are achieved through the use of data on water flows and supplementary information from the gauging stations network. Data compilations on European water resources are provided by the WMO, the Unesco’s IHP, the FAO’s Aquastat, and the Statistical Office of the European Commission (Eurostat). Eurostat has the responsibility of providing the EU with information based on a regular data collection on water statistics, eventually making recommendations for freshwater resources estimation.

C.2 Regional Policies vis-à-vis Water Resources Management (WRM)

At the continental scale, Europe has abundant resources, but these are very unevenly distributed. The European countries have come to realize that water, as a limited resource, must be carefully managed for the benefit of all people and the environment to ensure water security now and in the future. This concept of water security, which considers the future of water in present-day planning, also implies empowering the different countries to represent their interests and share their best practices. This is envisaged through a series of guidelines that will allow them to adopt a common policy regarding the specific problems related to drought.

C.3 Environmental Policies and WRM

INTRODUCTION

The Water Directive Framework (WFD), adopted on October 23rd 2000, by the Council and the European Parliament, defines a European framework for water management and protection at each hydrological basin level. Aiming to preserve and restore the water status both at surface and underground levels by 2015, the WFD give priority to environment conservation through participatory and consultative programs.

In conformity with WFD regulations, Member States are responsible for protecting, enhancing and restoring all bodies of surface water with the aim of achieving good surface water status. In practice, this is carried out through the implementation of monitoring programs (article 8), which cover: (i) the volume and water level or rate of flow to the extent relevant for ecological and chemical status and ecological potential, and (ii) the ecological and chemical status and ecological potential. For groundwaters, monitoring programs cover the monitoring of the chemical and quantitative status.

C.4 International Cooperation with Mediterranean Partners

The objectives of the Mediterranean Joint Water Framework include using the EU water-related experience and the WFD approach in components of the EU Water Initiative (EUWI) to contribute, in a sustainable way, to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for Water and Sanitation. This implies using – where appropriate – the WFD as a basis to be adapted. The principles on which the EUWI is based include fostering exchanges of best practices between EU and non-EU countries. The initiative target technical levels (water managers, experts, etc.) as well as political ones (water directors), in countries with shared rivers, seas and in candidate and neighbouring countries.

D Existing Gaps

Even with the vast collection and availability of data, and the broad awareness of the many values of water, finding solutions remains very difficult when interests and associated values conflict. It is, therefore, no wonder that the water crisis has been called a crisis of management. In most European countries, reforms to improve management in the water sector are underway. The most visible change is towards greater coordination of water concerns across sectors. Other significant changes are greater user participation; a broader range of providers, from private sector to community-based organisations through public utilities; and greater interest in river basin management and decentralisation.

But much remains to be done. Successfully applying the principles of integrated water resources management is a top priority, in the light of the enormous impact water has on development. This requires strong institutions, sufficient know-how and commitment, and adequate financial resources. Among the outstanding issues needing attention are strengthening the institutional framework for drought forecasting and management, enhancing people’s capabilities for coping with it, and promoting and sharing knowledge among all concerned with water-related risks. By adopting the WFD, the EU has thoroughly restructured its water protection policy. The directive requires that integrated management plans be developed for each river basin in order to achieve good ecological and chemical status. Whilst the WFD will contribute to mitigating the effects of droughts, this is not one of its principal objectives. In most cases, droughts are identified too late and emergency measures are undertaken in a hasty way. The latter are not, in general, sufficiently effective. Clear and consistent criteria for drought identification need therefore to be established. Such criteria would allow time, during a crisis, to look for a suitable response in the management of the water resource system.

The WFD additionally considers that prolonged droughts “can not reasonably have been foreseen” (Art.4.6). Prolonged droughts are therefore “grounds for exemptions from the requirement to prevent further deterioration or to achieve good status” (Preamble (32)) where “additional measures are not practicable” (Art.11.5). The Measures that directly relate to drought mitigation are left as optional supplementary measures (Annex VI, Part 5).

INTRODUCTION

Driving forces in setting up a common strategy on the need of water in Europe are intimately linked with national and international social and economic policies. Additional driving forces arise from natural variability in water availability (rainfall) and the diversity of Europe’s climatic zones. Recent history has demonstrated that extreme hydrological events can create additional stress on water supplies allocated for human and ecosystem health. In 2003 for example, several European countries suffered an intensive summer heat preceded by a shortage in precipitation towards the beginning of the year. Both climatic phenomena resulted in an extreme drought and water deficit, entailing various life and economic losses. The impact of an expected increase in climate variability will almost certainly lead to more extreme water-related hazards and consequently to large socio-economic losses.

E Links with Article 17 and Groundwater Daughter Directive

Groundwater systems are complex and vary considerably in different parts of the EU. The technical capacity of Member States to assess and manage groundwater is limited. An overemphasis on testing compliance with regulations or attempting to derive complex standards would not therefore provide a satisfactory solution to the problem. Alternatively, focusing on measures and actions that effectively and reliably protect groundwaters, as required by Article 17 of the WFD, constitutes the resort to achieve most specific targets being locally derived. Such a practice would set basic minimum controls adopted everywhere but with additional controls applied depending on local vulnerability within specific parts of the aquifer boundary.

It is to be equally noted that the most important element of the Groundwater Daughter Directive relates to the requirement under article 17.1 for the Parliament and Council to adopt specific measures to “prevent and control groundwater pollution”. While it is important in this regard to derive criteria to assess groundwater status and identify significant upward trends, this should not preclude the early adoption of simple pragmatic measures to protect groundwater quality.

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I DEFINITIONS AND ASSESSMENTOF THE DIFFERENT PHENOMENA

A Preamble

Imbalances in water supply and demand is a situation where there is insufficient water to satisfy normal requirements. It is important, however, to distinguish between imbalances, arising when water demands by society exceed the capacity of the natural system, and aridity, which is a natural condition. It is equally important to differentiate between natural aridity, due to low rainfall, and droughts, which stem from normal conditions.Although a drought is easy to recognise, there is no general agreement among experts regarding its definition. Drought generally results from a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. The primary cause of any drought is a deficiency in rainfall, and, in particular, the timing, distribution and intensity of this deficiency in relation to existing storage, demand and water use.Temperature and evapotranspiration may act in combination with rainfall to aggravate the severity and duration of the drought event. High summer temperatures , when associated with clear skies and sunshine, increase evapotranspiration to the extent that little or no summer rainfall is available for recharge. Winter droughts are caused by precipitation being stored in the catchment in the form of snow and ice, preventing any recharge of rivers or aquifers until temperatures go up and melting begins. Both rainfall and temperature are, in turn, driven by the atmospheric circulation patterns. That is, any change in the position, duration or intensity of high-pressure centres (anticyclones) would lead to changes in the prevailing circulation pattern, thus producing rainfall and temperature anomalies.

B Definition and Assessment of Drought

Drought is a normal, recurrent feature of climate, although many erroneously consider it a rare and random event. It occurs in virtually all climatic zones, but its characteristics vary significantly from one region to another. It is a temporary aberration; it differs from aridity, which is restricted to low rainfall regions and is a permanent feature of climate. Drought is an insidious hazard of nature. Although it has scores of definitions, it originates from a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more. This deficiency results in a water shortage for some activity, group, or environmental sector.Drought should be considered relative to some long-term average condition of balance between precipitation and evapotranspiration (i.e., evaporation + transpiration) in a particular area, a condition often perceived as “normal”. It is also related to the timing (i.e., principal season of occurrence, delays in the start of the rainy season, occurrence of rains in relation to principal crop growth stages) and the effectiveness (i.e., rainfall intensity, number of rainfall events) of the rains. Other climatic factors such as high temperature, high wind, and low relative humidity are often associated with it in many regions of the world and can significantly aggravate its severity.There are two main kinds of drought definitions: conceptual and operational.

Conceptual Definitions of DroughtConceptual definitions, formulated in general terms, help people understand the concept of drought. For example: drought is a protracted period of deficient precipitation resulting in extensive damage to crops, resulting in loss of yield. Conceptual definitions may also be important in establishing drought policy.

Operational Definitions of DroughtOperational definitions help people identify the beginning, end, and degree of severity of a drought. These definitions are categorized in terms of four basic approaches to measuring drought: meteorological, hydrological, agricultural, and socio-economic. The first three approaches deal with ways to measure drought as a physical phenomenon. The last deals with drought in terms of supply and demand, tracking the effects of water shortfall as it ripples through socio-economic systems.

CHAPTER I – Definition and assessment of the different phenomena

Meteorological drought is usually an expression of precipitation’s departure from normal over some period of time. These definitions are usually region-specific, and presumably based on a thorough understanding of regional climatology.

Agricultural drought occurs when there isn’t enough soil moisture to meet the needs of a particular crop at a particular time. Agricultural drought happens after meteorological drought but before hydrological drought. Agriculture is usually the first economic sector to be affected by drought.An operational definition for agriculture might compare daily precipitation values to evapotranspiration rates to determine the rate of soil moisture depletion, then express these relationships in terms of drought effects on plant behaviour (i.e., growth and yield) at various stages of crop development. A definition such as this one could be used in an operational assessment of drought severity and impacts by tracking meteorological variables, soil moisture, and crop conditions during the growing season, continually re-evaluating the potential impact of these conditions on final yield.

Hydrological drought refers to deficiencies in surface and subsurface water supplies. It is measured as streamflow and as lake, reservoir, and groundwater levels. There is a time lag between lack of rain and less water in streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, so hydrological measurements are not the earliest indicators of drought. When precipitation is reduced or deficient over an extended period of time, this shortage will be reflected in declining surface and subsurface water levels.Although climate is a primary contributor to hydrological drought, other factors such as changes in land use (e.g., deforestation), land degradation, and the construction of dams all affect the hydrological characteristics of the basin. Because regions are interconnected by hydrologic systems, the impact of meteorological drought may extend well beyond the borders of the precipitation-deficient area.Similarly, changes in land use upstream may alter hydrologic characteristics such as infiltration and runoff rates, resulting in more variable streamflow and a higher incidence of hydrologic drought downstream. Land use change is one of the ways human actions alter the frequency of water shortage even when no change in the frequency of meteorological drought has been observed.

Socio-economic droughts definition associate the supply and demand of some economic good with elements of meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural drought. It differs from the aforementioned types of drought because its occurrence depends on the time and space processes of supply and demand to identify or classify droughts. The supply of many economic goods, such as water, forage, food grains, fish, and hydroelectric power, depends on weather. Because of the natural variability of climate, water supply is ample in some years but unable to meet human and environmental needs in other years. Socio-economic drought occurs when the demand for an economic good exceeds supply as a result of a weather-related shortfall in water supply.To determine the beginning of drought, operational definitions specify the degree of departure from the average of precipitation or some other climatic variable over some time period. This is usually done by comparing the current situation to the historical average, often based on a 30-year period of record. The threshold identified as the beginning of a drought (e.g., 75% of average precipitation over a specified time period) is usually established somewhat arbitrarily, rather than on the basis of its precise relationship to specific impacts.

Operational definitions can also be used to analyze drought frequency, severity, and duration for a given historical period. Such definitions, however, require weather data on hourly, daily, monthly, or other time scales and, possibly, impact data (e.g., crop yield), depending on the nature of the definition being applied. Developing a climatology of drought for a region provides a greater understanding of its characteristics and the probability of recurrence at various levels of severity. Information of this type is extremely beneficial in the development of response and mitigation strategies and preparedness plans.

Because there is no single definition for drought, its onset and termination are difficult to determine. We can, however, identify various indicators of drought, and tracking these indicators provides us with a crucial means of monitoring drought.Drought indices assimilate thousands of bits of data on rainfall, snowpack, streamflow, and other water supply indicators into a comprehensible big picture. A drought index value is


typically a single number, far more useful than raw data for decision making. There are several indices that measure how much precipitation for a given period of time has deviated from historically established norms. Although none of the major indices is inherently superior to the rest in all circumstances, some indices are better suited than others for certain uses. In the international publications different indices have been discussed and applied. Among those we mention:

a. Percent of Normal;b. Deciles;c. Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI);d. Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI);e. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI).

(a) Percent of Normal This index is computed by dividing the actual precipitation by the "normal" precipitation (typically considered to be a 30-year mean) and multiplying by 100. This index can be calculated for a variety of time scales. Usually these time scales range from a single month to a group of months. One problem is that the distribution of the precipitation, on time scales less than one year, is not gaussian. For this reason the mean usually differs from the median. This introduces an error in the evaluation of the deviation from the values of the cumulated precipitation considered "normal" for a specific time-space scale. Values of the index less than 100 means drought conditions exist.

(b) Deciles The distribution of the time series of the cumulated precipitation for a given period is divided into intervals each corresponding to 10% of the total distribution (decile). Gibbs e Maher (1967) proposed to group the deciles into classes of events as listed in the following table:

Class Percent Period

Decile 1-2 20% lower Much below normal

Decile 3-4 20% following Below normal

Decile 5-6 20% medium Near normal

Decile 7-8 20% following Above normal

Decile 9-10 20% more high Much above normal

(c) Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) Palmer (1965) developed this index based on the supply-and-demand concept of the water balance equation. The objective of the index is to measure the departure of the moisture supply for normal condition at a specific location. The PDSI is based on precipitation and temperature data, on the local Available Water Content (AWC) of the soil and other meteorological parameters. The Palmer Index has been widely used but it has some limitations. Among these we mention: the index is highly sensitive to the AWC of a soil type and that there are some difficulties in comparing the results obtained in regions with a different water balances. The Palmer Index varies between -6.0 and +6.0. The index classification is shown in the following table:


PDSI Class

4.0 or more Extremely wet

3.0 to 3.99 Very wet

2.0 to 2.99 Moderately wet

1.0 to 1.99 Slightly wet

0.5 to 0.99 Incipient wet spell

0.49 to -0.49 Near normal

-0.5 to -0.99 Incipient dry spell

-1.9 to -1.99 Mild drought

-2.0 to -2.99 Moderate drought

-3.0 to -3.99 Severe drought

-4.0 or less Extreme drought

(d) Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) The Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) was developed by Shafer and Dezman (1982) to complement the Palmer Index. It is designed for large topographic variations across a region and it accounts for snow accumulation and subsequent runoff. The procedure to determine the SWSI for a particular basin is as follows: monthly data are collected and summed for all the precipitation stations, reservoirs, and snowpack/streamflow measuring stations over the basin. Each summed component is normalized using a long-term mean. Each component has a weight assigned to it depending on its typical contribution to the surface water within that basin.

Like the Palmer Index, the SWSI is centered on zero and has a range between -4.2 and +4.2. The SWSI suffers the same limitations discussed for the PSDI.

(e) Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) The SPI was developed by McKee et al (1993). It was designed to quantify the precipitation deficit for multiple time scales. These time scales reflect the impact of a drought on the availability of the different water resources. Soil moisture conditions respond to precipitation anomalies on a relatively short scale. Groundwater, streamflow, and reservoir storage reflect the longer-term precipitation anomalies. For these reasons, McKee et al. (1993) originally calculated the SPI for 3, 6, 12, 24, and 48 month time scales. The calculation of the index needs only precipitation record. It is computed by considering the precipitation anomaly with respect to the mean value for a given time scale, divided by its standard deviation. The precipitation is not a normal distribution, at least for time-scales less than one year. Therefore, the variable is adjusted so that the SPI is a gaussian distribution with zero mean and unit variance. A so adjusted index allows to compare values related to different regions. Moreover, because the SPI is normalized, wet and dry climates can be monitored in the same way. The classification shown in the following table is used to define drought intensities resulting from the SPI computation:


SPI values Class

>2 extremely wet

1.5 to 1.99 very wet

1.0 to 1.49 moderately wet

-0.99 to 0.99 near normal

-1 to –1.49 moderately dry

-1.5 to-1.99 severely dry

< -2 extremely dry

B.1 Drought due to Natural FactorsWhen precipitation over a given region performs poorly and is accompanied by relatively high evaporation rates for prolonged periods, a drought occurs. Drought differs from other natural disasters in its slowness of onset and its commonly lengthy duration. In most cases, drought is caused by a deficiency of either precipitation or an inadequacy of inland water resources supplies for a prolonged period. “Inadequacy” in this context is a relative word, and is determined by the specific requirements in the sector or activity.Before the rise of modern water-consuming cities, drought was an agricultural disaster. Now, with cities having expanded faster than water supplies can be made available, the spectre of drought faces both the farmer and the urban dweller. Since most inland water resources are usually sustained by precipitation, inadequate precipitation is usually the major cause of drought. This inadequacy is usually caused by an unfavourable performance of the factors which drive the climate system over the affected region. Precipitation anomalies are a naturally recurring feature of the global climate. These anomalies affect various components of the hydrologic cycle to produce a drought. Climatologies of precipitation, temperature, and atmospheric moisture provide an indication of the frequency and intensity of precipitation, the correlation of precipitation and temperature, and the atmospheric drying that occurs during droughts.


Shifts in atmospheric circulation, which cause drought, may extend for time scales of a month, a season, several years or even a century. The latter might be termed a climatic shift, but the effect on humans and their environment is equally great. Because of the economic and environmental importance of drought, determined efforts are being made to solve the problem of prediction of the atmospheric circulation patterns that produce droughts. Empirical studies conducted over the past century have shown that meteorological drought is never the result of a single cause. It is the result of many causes, often synergistic in nature.Global Weather PatternsA great deal of research has been conducted in recent years on the role of interacting systems, or teleconnections, in explaining regional and even global patterns of climatic variability. These patterns tend to recur periodically with enough frequency and with similar characteristics over a sufficient length of time that they offer opportunities to improve our ability for long-range climate prediction, particularly in the tropics. One such teleconnection is the El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

High PressureThe immediate cause of drought is the predominant sinking motion of air (subsidence), high-pressure systems can be stalled by jet streams, wide bands of fast-moving air (up to 335 miles per hour) in the upper atmosphere. Masses of air that usually move from place to place can be locked in one area by jet streams, that results in compressional warming or high pressure, which inhibits cloud formation and results in lower relative humidity and less precipitation.


Regions under the influence of semi permanent high pressure during all or a major portion of the year are usually deserts. Most climatic regions experience varying degrees of dominance by high pressure, often depending on the season. Prolonged droughts occur when large-scale anomalies in atmospheric circulation patterns persist for months or seasons (or longer).

Localized subsidenceInduced by mountain barriers or other physiographic features. Most such areas lie in the lee of mountains across the westerly belts. They are hence in midlatitudes. The dryness is caused by the warming of westerly currents as they descend east of the summits. This allows them to hold moisture and carry it away. As air is moving past a mountain range, it is forced to rise in order to pass over the peaks. However, as the air rises, it becomes colder and the vapour condenses into rain or snow. The rain then falls on that side of the mountain, known as the windward side (the side that is turned toward the wind). When the air mass finally makes it over the mountain, it has lost much of its vapour. This is another reason why many deserts are found on the side of a mountain facing away from the ocean. This phenomenon is known as the rain shadow effect.

Absence of rainmaking disturbancesIn general, rain is caused by the travel of organized disturbances across a region--i.e., systems that involve actual uplift of humid air. Thus the aridity of the Mediterranean summer, though in part due to subsidence, arises mainly from the absence of cyclonic disturbances that bring the rains of winter. There is plenty of water in the air, but nothing to bring it down as rain.

Absence of humid airstreamsThe relationship between the water available for precipitation (precipitable water) and the precipitation that actually falls is by no means simple. Dry weather may be prolonged in areas of high humidity. In addition to having rainmaking atmospheric disturbances, regions of abundant rainfall must have access to humid airstreams. Some innercontinental regions are quite remote from such sources.Human activities also contribute to the development of drought conditions. Overgrazing, poor cropping methods and improper soil conservation techniques often contribute to creating the drought.

B.2 Drought due to Anthropogenic FactorsThe causes of water scarcity are varied. Some are natural and others are as a result of human activity. The current debate sites the causes as largely deterministic in that scarcity is a result of identifiable cause and effect. However, if water scarcity is the point at which water stress occurs (the point at which various conflicts arise, harvests fail and the like), then there are also less definable sociological and political causes. Many of the causes are inter-related and are not easily distinguished. Some of the main causes are listed below. The list is not in order of priority although some causes have greater impact than others.

Population growthThe main cause of growing water scarcity is the growing demand resulting from population increase. The world's population is growing rapidly - in 2020 it is projected to be 7.9 billion, 50% larger than in 1990 (Dyson, 1996). Most of this growth will be in countries the inhabitants of which have low levels of household water consumption, and in which the use of water-intensive appliances is likely to grow. Many of these countries are also rapidly urbanising, and the task of obtaining sufficient water and distributing it to the newly urbanised households will be a major financial and environmental challenge to many authorities. The major increase in demand is due to the development needs of the growing population and, primarily, from the need to grow sufficient food to feed the increasing population. Although the growth of population and demand for food is the predominant factor in the growing scarcity of water, other factors, reviewed below, also contribute.Climatic change and variabilityThere is a great deal of debate regarding the issue of global climate change. Whilst there is a wide-spread view that global warming is happening, this is yet to be conclusively scientifically proven and the effect of this phenomenon on water resources is unknown. The consensus is that the effect will be to accentuate the extremes with more pronounced droughts and more severe flooding. If it persists, climatic zones are likely to migrate, leaving the climate of some regions dryer, others wetter, and all more variable and unpredictable (Parry, 1992). Certain


regions dependent on water (e.g. major farming areas, or large population centres) will experience more water scarcity, while others will become more humid. It is an open question what the net effect on water supply will be, but in any case there will be transitional and frictional costs in regions that become drier.

Land useThe degradation and land use conversion of watersheds and catchments may reduce the amount of usable water available downstream. Whilst reduction of vegetation cover may result in greater run off, it reduces groundwater infiltration and the storage capacity of dams and lakes through siltation. The draining of large scale wet-lands or large scale deforestation may change the micro-climate of a region.The need for improved farming methods and greater understanding of the soil/water interface is evident in many parts of the country. The consequences of poor land management and farming methods is to push communities ever closer to the point of vulnerability where even small changes in conditions can have disastrous effects.Another issue related to land use is the development of "thirsty" crops, particularly in sensitive areas such as mountain catchments. An example is forestry development. Whilst this can offer employment and a variety of other benefits, there are cases where the runoff from such areas is substantially reduced causing water scarcity for down stream users. Elsewhere, the damage to the hydrological cycle leaves everyone the poorer.

Water qualityPollution of water supplies reduces the availability of water for use. This is particularly severe during times of water shortages. In times of plenty the ability of a river to accept a given pollution load is greater because of greater dilution factors. As water becomes more scarce, therefore, rivers and streams become increasingly sensitive to the effects of pollution, as do those human and other living organisms which depend on the water. This may happen to surface supplies (e.g. a river or lake used for drinking water or washing) or groundwater, and the pollution may be from industrial effluent, agro-chemical run-off from fields, the casual disposal of human excreta, or the release of insufficiently treated sewage from municipal works. However, stating the problem points to the solution - reducing water pollution can increase usable water supply.

Water demandA growing and unmanaged demand for water will hasten the arrival of conditions of scarcity. The widespread misconception by many people that there is plenty of water and that the only problem is getting it to the right place at the right time still persists as a residue from the era of supply driven water resources management. Reducing and managing the demand for water, enforcing greater efficiency of use and introducing water conservation measures requires policy and legislative attention.

Legislation and water resource managementPoor or inadequate legislation can exacerbate the effects of water scarcity. Water law which gives certain users exclusive rights to use of water is necessary to provide security for investment (usually in the agricultural sector), but it can result in other users being put in serious jeopardy during times of scarcity. The management of water resources and the policies guiding the development of water resources can also have a direct effect on the ability of some sectors to survive periods of water scarcity. If these are inequitable, inefficient, or do not provide for at least the basic needs of all citizens, then a particular occurrence of water scarcity will result in conditions of drought where, if the water resource management regime had been different, this would have been avoided.

International watersThe use of water in international rivers by upstream countries may lead to conditions of drought in downstream countries. This is a problem which is obviously exacerbated during times of scarcity. It is important that communication is maintained between riparian countries through a variety of mechanisms including special protocols, joint commissions, memoranda of agreement, treaties etc.. It is important that these are established during times of plenty rather than in times of crisis.

Political realities


Politicians and decision-makers are the persons who have greatest influence on the allocation of scarce budgets and the adoption of policy. Unfortunately, the horizons of many politicians do not coincide with the horizons of prudent water resource management, resulting in decisions being made on the basis of short term political expediency.

Sociological issuesThere are a number of sociological and cultural issues which exacerbate the water scarcity situation. These are often as a result of practices which were not originally a threat to the environment but have become a threat as population pressures and modern consumerism increases. The resulting pressures on the environment, for example from over grazing, have a direct and detrimental effect on water resources. The long-term economic and social impacts of these issues often predetermine the overall political and economic framework from which many of the other causes of water scarcity stem.The main point to highlight in this section is that "scarcity" is not just - or even primarily - an inevitable natural phenomenon, but is heavily influenced by human behaviour, social customs and institutions, and government policies.

B.3 Drought Impacts per SectorDrought should not be viewed as merely a physical phenomenon or natural event. Its impacts on society result from the interplay between a natural event (less precipitation than expected resulting from natural climatic variability) and the demand people place on water supply.

The sequence of impacts associated with meteorological, agricultural, and hydrological drought further emphasizes their differences.

When drought begins, the agricultural sector is usually the first to be affected because of its heavy dependence on stored soil water. Soil water can be rapidly depleted during extended dry periods. If precipitation deficiencies continue, then people dependent on other sources of water will begin to feel the effects of the shortage.

Those who rely on surface water (i.e., reservoirs and lakes) and subsurface water (i.e., ground water), for example, are usually the last to be affected. A short-term drought that persists for 3 to 6 months may have little impact on these sectors, depending on the characteristics of the hydrologic system and water use requirements.

When precipitation returns to normal and meteorological drought conditions have abated, the sequence is repeated for the recovery of surface and subsurface water supplies. Soil water reserves are replenished first, followed by streamflow, reservoirs and lakes, and ground water. Drought impacts may diminish rapidly in the agricultural sector because of its reliance on soil water, but linger for months or even years in other sectors dependent on stored surface or subsurface supplies. Ground water users, often the last to be affected by drought during its onset, may be last to experience a return to normal water levels. The length of the recovery period is a function of the intensity of the drought, its duration, and the quantity of precipitation received as the episode terminates.


DROUGHT

DEFINITION

Natural Climate Variability

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Economic Impacts Social Impacts Enviromental Impacts

Reduced streamflow, inflow to reservoirs, lakes, and ponds; reduced wetlands, wildlife habitat

Soil water deficiency

Plant water stress, reduced biomass and yield

Precipitation deficiency (ammount, intensity, timing)

Reduced infiltration, runoff, deep percolation, and ground water recharge

High temp., high winds, low relative humidity, greater sunshine, less cloud cover

Increased evaporation and transpiration

TI

ME--DURATION

DROUGHT

DEFINITION

Natural Climate Variability

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Economic Impacts Social Impacts Enviromental Impacts

Reduced streamflow, inflow to reservoirs, lakes, and ponds; reduced wetlands, wildlife habitat

Soil water deficiency

Plant water stress, reduced biomass and yield

Precipitation deficiency (ammount, intensity, timing)

Reduced infiltration, runoff, deep percolation, and ground water recharge

High temp., high winds, low relative humidity, greater sunshine, less cloud cover

Increased evaporation and transpiration

TI

ME--DURATION

Sequence of Drought ImpactsDrought produces a complex web of impacts that spans many sectors of the economy and reaches well beyond the area experiencing physical drought.

Impacts are commonly referred to as direct or indirect. Reduced crop, rangeland, and forest productivity; increased fire hazard; reduced water levels; increased livestock and wildlife mortality rates; damage to wildlife and fish habitat are a few examples of direct impacts.

The consequences of these impacts illustrate indirect impacts. For example, a reduction in crop, rangeland and forest productivity may result in reduced income for farmers and agribusiness, increased prices for food and timber, unemployment, reduced tax revenues because of reduced expenditures, increased crime, foreclosures on bank loans to farmers and businesses, migration, and disaster relief programs.

The impacts of drought can be categorized as economic, environmental, or social.

Economic ImpactsMany economic impacts occur in agriculture and related sectors, including forestry and fisheries, because of the reliance of these sectors on surface and subsurface water supplies. In addition to obvious losses in yields in both crop and livestock production, drought is associated with increases in insect infestations, plant disease, and wind erosion. Droughts also bring increased problems with insects and diseases to forests and reduce growth. The incidence of forest and range fires increases substantially during extended droughts, which in turn places both human and wildlife populations at higher levels of risk.

Income loss is another indicator used in assessing the impacts of drought because so many sectors are affected. Reduced income for farmers has a ripple effect. Retailers and others who provide goods and services to farmers face reduced business. This leads to unemployment, increased credit risk for financial institutions, capital shortfalls, and loss of tax revenue for government. Less discretionary income affects the recreation and tourism industries. Prices for food, energy, and other products increase as supplies are reduced. In some cases, local shortages of certain goods result in the need to import these goods from outside the stricken region. Reduced water supply impairs the navigability of rivers and results in increased transportation costs because products must be transported by rail or truck. Hydropower production may also be curtailed significantly.


Costs and losses to agricultural sector

o Annual and perennial crop losseso Damage to crop qualityo Income loss for farmers due to reduced crop yieldso Reduced productivity of cropland (wind erosion, long-term loss of organic matter, etc.)o Insect infestationo Plant diseaseo Wildlife damage to crops o Increased irrigation costso Cost of new or supplemental water resource development (wells, dams, pipelines)o Loss to industries directly dependent on agricultural production (e.g., machinery and fertilizer manufacturers, food processors, dairies, etc.)o Fewer agricultural producers (due to bankruptcies, new occupations)

Costs and losses to livestock producers

o Reduced productivity of rangelando Reduced milk productiono Forced reduction of foundation stocko Closure/limitation of public lands to grazingo High cost/unavailability of water for livestocko High cost/unavailability of feed for livestocko Increased feed transportation costso High livestock mortality rateso Disruption of reproduction cycles (delayed breeding, more miscarriages)o Decreased stock weightso Increased predationo Range fires

Loss from fishery production

o Damage to fish habitato Loss of fish and other aquatic organisms due to decreased flows

Loss from forestry

o Wild-land fireso Tree diseaseo Insect infestationo Impaired productivity of forest lando Direct loss of trees, especially young ones

Loss to recreation and tourism industry

o Loss to manufacturers and sellers of recreational equipmento Losses related to curtailed activities: hunting and fishing, bird watching, boating, etc.

Transportation Industry

o Loss from impaired navigability of streams, rivers, and canals

Energy-related effects

o Increased energy demand and reduced supply because of drought-related power curtailmentso Costs to energy industry and consumers associated with substituting more expensive fuels (oil) for hydroelectric power

Water Suppliers

o Revenue shortfalls and/or windfall profitso Cost of water transport or transfero Cost of new or supplemental water resource development


Environmental ImpactsEnvironmental losses are the result of damages to plant and animal species, wildlife habitat, and air and water quality; forest and range fires; degradation of landscape quality; loss of biodiversity; and soil erosion. Some of the effects are short-term and conditions quickly return to normal following the end of the drought. Other environmental effects linger for some time or may even become permanent. Wildlife habitat, for example, may be degraded through the loss of wetlands, lakes, and vegetation. However, many species will eventually recover from this temporary aberration. The degradation of landscape quality, including increased soil erosion, may lead to a more permanent loss of biological productivity of the landscape. Although environmental losses are difficult to quantify, growing public awareness and concern for environmental quality has forced public officials to focus greater attention and resources on these effects.Environmental impacts from irrigation can be of different types: aquifer exhaustion from over abstraction, salinisation of groundwater, increased erosion of cultivated soils on slopes and water pollution from nutrients and pesticides. These impacts are not well documented in many EU member states but different case studies show that over-abstraction and salinisation of aquifers occur in many parts of the Mediterranean coastline (Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece) and some localised areas in northern Europe (Netherlands). Soil erosion is particularly severe in Spain, Portugal and Greece. The desiccation of former wetlands and the destruction of former high nature value habitats are significant in different regions of both southern and northern Europe (west France, inland Spain, Hungary and southeast England).

Damage to animal species and plant communities

o Reduction and degradation of fish and wildlife habitato Lack of feed and drinking watero Diseaseo Increased vulnerability to predation (from species concentrated near water)o Migration and concentration (loss of wildlife in some areas and too many wildlife in other areas)o Increased stress to endangered specieso Loss of trees from urban landscapes, shelterbelts, wooded conservation areaso Loss of biodiversity

Hydrological effects

o Lower water levels in reservoirs, lakes, and pondso Reduced flow from springso Reduced streamflowo Loss of wetlandso Estuarine impacts (e.g., changes in salinity levels)o Increased groundwater depletion, land subsidence, reduced rechargeo Water quality effects (e.g., salt concentration, increased water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity)

Social ImpactsSocial impacts mainly involve public safety, health, conflicts between water users, reduced quality of life, and inequities in the distribution of impacts and disaster relief. Many of the impacts specified as economic and environmental have social components as well.

Health

o Mental and physical stresso Health-related low-flow problems (e.g., cross-connection contamination, diminished sewage flows, increased pollutant concentrations, reduced fire fighting capability, etc.)o Reductions in nutrition (e.g., high-cost food limitations, stress-related dietary deficiencies)o Public safety from forest and range fireso Effects on air quality (e.g., dust, pollutants) increase respiratory ailmentso Increased disease caused by wildlife concentrations

Increased conflicts


o Water user conflictso Political conflictso Management conflictso Other social conflicts (e.g., scientific, media-based)

Reduced quality of life, changes in lifestyle

o Increased poverty in generalo Population migrations (rural to urban areas, migrants into the United States)o Loss of aesthetic valueso Reduction or modification of recreational activities

B.4 Drought Perceptions in Different Climatic Zones

PrecipitationThe observed changes in precipitation rates over Europe in the 20 th century follow the general hemispheric trend of increasing precipitation at mid- and high latitudes and decreasing precipitation in the subtropics. The observations showed a strong decadal variation in drought frequency. The variations projected for scenarios including man-made forcings have been compared to the variations found in a model simulation over 1400 years with no anthropogenic changes. This analysis showed that the anthropogenic influence on projected temperature changes tend to be more significantly different from natural variations than the anthropogenic influence on precipitation changes.

Northern Europe: annual precipitation over Northern Europe has increased by between 10 and 40% in the last century; the strongest increases are found in Scandinavia and Western Russia. The changes in Central Europe are less pronounced and include both increases (in the western part) and decreases (in the eastern part). The projected precipitation in the 21st

century was evaluated within the ACACIA project in the modelling exercise mentioned above. It was found that the trend towards increasing precipitation in Northern Europe would continue at a rate of 1 to 2% per decade. An increasing trend is expected for the winter as well as the summer season. The projected changes for Central Europe (e.g. France and Germany) are small or ambiguous.

Southern Europe: most of the Mediterranean basin has experienced up to 20% reduction of precipitation in some areas during the last century. The projections for the 21st century show further decreases in precipitation over Southern Europe, but not by more than, at most, about 1%. Contrary to Northern Europe, there is a marked difference between the seasons: apart from the Balkans and Turkey, Southern Europe can expect more precipitation in the winter while in the summer precipitation is projected to decrease by up to 5% per decade. The previously mentioned effects of aerosol pollution over the Mediterranean, implying cooling of the sea-surface and heating of the atmosphere, are likely to cause reduced summer precipitation in the region. These aerosol-driven changes are not included in the TAR evaluation of European climate change.


Population exposed to drought events in Europe


C Definition of Supply/Demand Imbalances

C.1 Water ShortageA water shortage can be described as any situation in which water supply is inadequate to meet demand. The term “water shortage” have the following specific meanings:- a dearth, or absolute shortage;- low levels of water supply relative to minimum levels necessary for basic needs.Can be measured by annual renewable flows (in cubic meters) per head of population, or its reciprocal, viz. the number of people dependent on each unit of water (e.g. millions of people per cubic kilometer).The frequency and/or cause of a shortage may indicate the best way to overcome it. Droughts are temporary, but often reoccur. Thus, depending upon drought frequency, a solution to the problems created by drought may be reducing demand and/or augmenting supply. On the other hand, water contamination can put a water supply out of commission permanently (or at least until treatment technology becomes affordable). In this case, a new source of supply is probably warranted. Water shortage caused by inadequate planning or equipment may be eliminated by attention to design and capital improvements. Shortages resulting solely from increased demand for water resources may be best eliminated through long-term resource management.A comparison of projected supply and demand indicates whether a utility faces a potential water shortage. Ideally, a utility should know not only whether it is likely to have a shortage, but how much of a shortage. This would enable the development of responses based on the projected magnitude of an impending shortage. In reality, it is very difficult to estimate the projected magnitude of a shortage because of the difficulty involved in estimating available supplies. Therefore, the primary objective is to determine whether a utility faces the possibility of a shortage. The secondary objective is to determine, if possible, the magnitude of this potential shortage.Selected demand reduction options should be related to the degree of water shortage that exists. For example, you would not want to impose water rationing upon your customers if you only had a five percent deficit in your normal water supply. Stages of a water shortage and corresponding demand reduction measures include:

C.2 Water ScarcityIn popular usage, “scarcity” is a situation where there is insufficient water to satisfy normal requirements. However, this commonsense definition is of little use to policy makers and planners. There are degrees of scarcity - absolute, life-threatening, seasonal, temporary, cyclical, etc. Populations with normally high levels of consumption may experience temporary “scarcity” more keenly than other societies, who are accustomed to using much less water. Scarcity often arises because of socio-economic trends having little to do with basic needs. Defining scarcity for policy-making purposes is very difficult.The term “water scarcity” have the following specific meanings:- an imbalance of supply and demand under prevailing institutional arrangements and/or prices;- an excess of demand over available supply;- a high rate of utilization compared to available supply, especially if the remaining supply potentials difficult or costly to tap.Because this is a relative concept, it is difficult to capture in single indices. However, current utilization as a percentage of total available resources can illustrate the scale of the problem and the latitude for policymakers.Some causes of water scarcity are natural, others are of human agency. The impact of natural processes can be aggravated by human responses. Human behavior can modify our physical environment in a way that makes useful water more scarce. The demand for water may be artificially stimulated, so that a given supply becomes “scarce”.

C.3 Water StressWater stress is generally related to an over-proportionate abstraction of water in relation to the resources available in a particular area. The ratio between total freshwater abstraction and total resources indicates in a general way the availability of water and the pressure on water resources.


Water stress occurs when the demand for water exceeds the available amount during a certain period or when poor quality restricts its use. It frequently occurs in areas with low rainfall and high population density or in areas where agricultural or industrial activities are intense. Even where sufficient long-term freshwater resources exist, seasonal or annual variations in the availability of freshwater may at times cause stress. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity (aquifer over-exploitation, dry rivers, etc.) and quality (eutrophication, organic matter pollution, saline intrusion, etc.). Such deterioration can result in health problems and have a negative influence on ecosystems.

Water Exploitation IndexWater Exploitation Index

The Water Exploitation Index (WEI) in a country is the mean annual total demand for freshwater divided by the long-term average freshwater resources. It gives an indication of how the total water demand puts pressure on the water resource.A total of 20 countries (50% of Europe’s population) can be considered as non-stressed, lying mainly in Central and Northern Europe.When not considering water abstraction (numbers in bold) for energy cooling, nine countries can considered as having low water stress (32% of Europe’s population). These include, Belgium, Denmark and Romania and southern countries (Greece, Portugal and Turkey). Four countries (Cyprus, Italy, Malta and Spain) are considered to be water stressed (18% of Europe’s population).

C.4 Water demand managementWater demand management refers to the implementation of policies or measures which serve to control or influence the amount of water used (EEA Glossary).The relationship between water abstraction and water availability has turned into a major stress factor in the exploitation of water resources in Europe. Therefore, it is logical that the investigation of sustainable water use is concentrating increasingly on the possibilities of influencing water demand in a way which is favourable for the water environment. Demand management includes initiatives having the objective of reducing the amount of water used (e.g. the introduction of economic instruments and metering), usually accompanied by information and educational programmes to encourage more rational use. The EEA thinks that water demand management can be considered as a part of water conservation policy, which is a more general concept, describing initiatives with the aim of protecting the aquatic environment and making a more rational use of water resources.C.5 Water conservationWhile there is no universally accepted definition of water conservation, this term is often used to mean “saving water” through efficient or wise use. People do not always agree on the meaning of “efficiency” because there are varying degrees of efficiency. For example, efficient


residential water use can range from reducing toilet tank flows and turning the tap off when water is not in use (activities that do not require significant, if any, lifestyle changes), to planting low-water-use landscapes and car washing restrictions (activities that do require environmental or lifestyle changes).In terms of utility management activities for dealing with water shortages, conservation can mean both short-term curtailment of demand, and long-term resource management. Short-term curtailment of demand can be achieved through a vigorous public information program, which can include both voluntary and enforceable actions. The curtailment is temporary and after a shortage is over, consumers usually resume their former water use habits. Long-term resource management involves efficient use and resource protection strategies designed to effect permanent change in how water is managed and used. Utilities often undertake activities under normal circumstances to promote efficient use of water.Today, water conservation has many meanings. It means storing, saving, reducing or recycling water. It means:

for farmers who irrigate:- improving application practices via surge valves, special nozzles on sprinkler systems, and soil moisture sensors;- increasing uniformity of application, thereby allowing less water to be used;- using weather date to balance water applications with available soil moisture and crop water needs;- lining diversion canals and ditches to minimize seepage and leaks.

for municipalities:- encouraging residents to install and use high efficiency plumbing fixtures and educate them about water-saving habits;- reducing peak demands to avoid the extra costs of investing in additional pumping and treatment plants;- metering water (customers pay for what they use).

for industry:- identifying other resource-conserving methods for the production processes;- reusing water used in manufacturing and cooling.


D Assessment of Supply/Demand Imbalances

D.1 Available Resources for Water Supply (Quantity/Quality)

The concept of water resources is multidimensional. It is not limited only to its physical measure (hydrological and hydrogeological), the ‘flows and stocks’, but encompasses other more qualitative, environmental and socio-economic dimensions.

The water resources of a country are determined by a number of factors, including the amount of water received from precipitation, inflow and outflow in rivers and the amount lost by evaporation and transpiration (evaporation of water through plants). The potential for storage in aquifers and bodies of surface water is important in facilitating the exploitation of this resource by humans. These factors depend on geography, geology and climate.

Freshwater resources are continuously replenished by the natural processes of the hydrological cycle. Approximately 65% of precipitation falling on land returns to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration; the remainder, or runoff, recharges aquifers, streams and lakes as it flows to the sea.The average annual runoff for the member countries of the European Environment Agency (EEA) is estimated to be about 3100 km3 per year (314 mm per year). This is equivalent to 4500 m3 per capita per year for a population of 680 million.

Long-term average annual runoff (expressed in mm) in the European Union

Sustainable use of the freshwater resources can only be assured if the rate of use does not exceed the rate of renewal. The total abstraction of a country or area must not exceed the net water balance (precipitation plus inflow minus evaporation and transpiration). An excess of water abstraction over water use is especially prominent in the central Asian republics, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.


Achieving the correct balance between use and renewal requires reliable quantitative assessment of the water resources and a thorough understanding of the hydrological regime. Available resources must be managed carefully to ensure that abstraction to satisfy the various demands for water does not threaten the long-term availability of water. Sustainability also implies management to protect the quality of the water resources, which may include measures such as preventing contaminants from entering the water, and maintaining river flows so that any discharges are sufficiently diluted to prevent adverse effects on water quality and ecological status.

Population density also determines the availability of water per person. Population density varies widely across Europe, from fewer than 10 inhabitants per km2 in Iceland, the Russian Federation and some of the central Asian republics (Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) to over 300 per km2 in the Benelux countries and San Marino and over 1000 per km2 in Malta.

Population density in the WHO European Region

On the continental scale, Europe appears to have abundant water resources. However, these resources are unevenly distributed, both between and within countries. Once population density is taken into account, the unevenness in the distribution of water resources per inhabitant is striking.

Rainfall may either flow on the surface or underground. It may finally reach the sea or it may return to the atmosphere, evaporated or consumed by the vegetation (two universal paths of the water cycle). In general, only the first type is considered ‘water resources’ offered by nature to humans. This is especially the point of view of hydrologists, who measure or assess them, and of developers. They consider evaporation as ‘losses’ (there are only lost for runoff). However, from an ecological point of view, it is excessive to judge such ‘water resources’ as useless because they maintain soil moisture and nourish natural and cultivated vegetation in rainfed systems.

GROUNDWATER

Groundwater represents the largest single source of freshwater in the hydrological cycle (about 95% globally), greater in volume than all the water in rivers, lakes and wetlands combined. In general, groundwater is of good quality because of natural purification processes, and very little treatment is needed to make it suitable for human consumption.


Natural underground reservoirs can have an enormous storage capacity, much greater than the largest man-made reservoirs; they can supply“ buffer storage” during periods of drought. In addition, groundwater provides base flow to surface water systems, feeding them all through the year. Thus, groundwater quality has a direct impact on the quality of surface waters as well as on associated aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.


Precipitation and Groundwater

When it rains at the latitude of Switzerland, only 30 drops out of 100 infiltrate towards the groundwater reservoir, 40 evaporate into the atmosphere and 30 run off in the rivers.

Estimated percentage of drinking watersupply obtained from groundwater

Region (%) Population served(millions)

Asia–Pacific 32 1 000 – 2 000Europe 75 200 – 500Central and South America 29 150

USA 51 135Australia 15 3Africa NA NAWorld - 1 500 – 2 750Source: UNEP 2003


Groundwater represents the portion of precipitation that infiltrates into the land surface, entering the empty spaces between soil particles or fractured rocks. The larger the soil particles, the larger the empty spaces, and the greater the potential for water infiltration.Groundwater systems are dynamic. Water is continuously in motion; its velocity is highly variable, ranging from a few meters per year to several meters per day. Many aquifer systems possess a natural capacity to attenuate and thereby mitigate the effects of pollution. The ground purifies the infiltrating water in three different ways. It serves as a physical filter retaining dirt like a sieve. Pollutants undergo chemical conversion through contact with soil minerals. Surface soil supports intense microbial life; bacteria break down certain undesirable substances, neutralising them.Although groundwater is not easily contaminated, once this occurs it is difficult to remediate. Therefore, it is important to identify which aquifer systems are most vulnerable to degradation. The replacement cost of a failing local aquifer will be high and its loss may stress other water resources turned to as substitutes.

Driving Forces: groundwater quality and quantity are threatened by human activities that cause pressures on the environment, including urbanization, tourism, industry and agriculture.

Driving Forces Consequences for Groundwater

Urbanization

Increasing urban population causes substantial pressures on groundwater. More than two-thirds of Europe’s population lives in urban areas and the rate of urbanization is, in particular, increasing in Central and Eastern Europe, while in Western Europe it has stabilized.

Industry

Industrial pressures involve: high water demand for cooling and cleaning purposes; pollution with potentially toxic inorganic and organic substances (e.g. organic matter, metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, nutrients…); disposal or dumping of sludge and waste, and inadequate containment of old industrial sites; accidents during production and transport. Further pollution arises from emissions to air, mainly from the combustion of fossil fuels, which initiate a process of acidification.

Tourism

Tourism causes very high pressures on groundwater, especially because of the additional water demand during seasons when the groundwater situation may already be rather critical. Waste and sewage from this sector represent another potential source of groundwater pollution.

AgricultureThe legacy of the agricultural intensification of the post-war years is still present, and it is widely predicted that groundwater will continue to be contaminated with nitrate for several decades

Groundwater availability: in some regions the extent of groundwater abstraction exceeds the recharge rate (over-exploitation). In Europe, the share of groundwater needed at the country level to meet the total demand for freshwater ranges from 9% up to 100%. In the majority of countries, however, total annual groundwater abstraction has been decreasing since 1990.The vulnerability of an aquifer to overexploitation depends on its type, the climate, hydrological conditions and the uses of the water.The rapid expansion in groundwater abstraction over the past 30–40 years has supported new agricultural and socio-economic development in regions where alternative surface water resources are insufficient, uncertain or too costly. The main reported cause of groundwater over-exploitation is water abstraction for public and industrial supply. Mining activities, irrigation and dry periods can also lower groundwater tables.Over-abstraction leads to groundwater depletion, with consequences like deterioration of water quality (e.g. saltwater intrusion), loss of habitats (e.g. wetlands), modification of riveraquifer interactions and ground subsidence.

GROUNDWATER RESOURCES AND ABSTRACTIONS


Note: data for groundwater resources are long term annualaverage; data for groundwater abstractions refer to year1995 except for Cyprus 1998, Ireland 1994, Netherlands1996, Portugal 1998, Italy 1985, and Turkey 2000

Over-exploitation effects~ Groundwater quality: continuous groundwater over-exploitation can cause isolated or widespread groundwater quality problems. Over-abstraction causes a drawdown in groundwater level which can influence the movement of water within an aquifer. Significant draw-downs can cause serious quality problems. One of these changes is displacement of the freshwater/saltwater interface, causing active saltwater intrusion.~ Saltwater intrusion: large areas of the Mediterranean coastline in Italy, Spain and Turkey have been affected by saltwater intrusion. The main cause is groundwater over-abstraction for public water supply, followed by agricultural water demand and tourism-related abstractions.Irrigation is the main cause of groundwater overexploitation in agricultural areas. An example is the Greek Argolid plain of eastern Peloponnesos, where it is common to find boreholes 400 m deep contaminated by salt water intrusion.~ River-aquifer interactions: aquifers can exert a strong influence on river flows. In summer, many rivers are dependent on the groundwater base flow contribution for their minimum flow. Lower groundwater levels due to over-exploitation may, therefore, endanger river dependent ecological and economic functions, including surface water abstractions, dilution of effluents, navigation and hydropower generation.~ Wetlands: water abstraction in areas near wetlands can be a very severe problem: groundwater pumping usually lowers the groundwater table and then produces a new, deeper unsaturated zone. This can severely damage wetland ecosystems which are very sensitive to minor changes in water level.~ Ground Subsidence: heavy draw-down has been identified as the cause of ground subsidence or soil compaction phenomena in some parts of Europe, notably along the Veneto and Emilia-Romagna coasts, the Po delta and particularly in Venice, Bologne and Ravenna in Italy.

Groundwater qualityAs groundwater moves slowly through the ground, the impact of human activities can last for a relatively long time. This makes pollution prevention very important for addressing groundwater issues.Pollution of a water body occurs when an impurity (micro-organism or chemical) is introduced by or as a result of human activities, creating an actual or potential danger to human health or the environment when present at high concentrations. Europe’s groundwater is polluted in several


ways: nitrates, pesticides, hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, sulphate, phosphate and bacteria. Some of the most serious problems are pollution by nitrates and pesticides.


NITRATE IN GROUNDWATER BODIES

NUMBER OF REGISTERED ACTIVE PESTICIDE INGREDIENTS



Types of water resourcesRenewable water resources: these are defined as the average manual flow of rivers and recharge of aquifers generated from precipitation.Internal renewable water resources: is that part of the water resources (surface water and groundwater) generated from endogenous precipitation.Although the hydrological cycle links all waters, surface water and groundwater are usually studied separately and represent different development opportunities. Surface water is the water of rivers and lakes; groundwater is the water captured in underground reservoirs. Surface water flows can contribute to groundwater replenishment through seepage in the river bed. Aquifers can discharge into rivers and contribute their base flow, the sole source of river flow during dry periods. Therefore, the respective flows of both systems are not wholly additive.

External renewable water resources: as the part of a country’s resources that enter from upstream countries through rivers (external surface water) or aquifers (external groundwater resources). The total external resources are the inflow from neighbouring countries (transboundary flow) and a part of the resources of shared lakes or border rivers, defined for the purposes of this study through an arbitrary rule (unless defined by an agreement or treaty).Most of the inflow consists of river runoff, but it can also consist of groundwater transfer between countries (e.g. between Belgium and France, Bulgaria and Romania, or Sudan and Egypt). However, groundwater transfers are rarely known and their assessment requires a good knowledge of the piezometry of the aquifers at the border. In arid areas, they may be important in comparison with surface flow.

Western and Central EuropeThe Western and Central Europe region accounts for about 3.7 percent of the world’s total land area and 8.4 percent of its population. In this study, the Western and Central Europe region is divided into four relatively homogeneous and hydrologically independent subregions:- Northern Europe: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Spitsbergen (Norway) and Sweden;- Western Europe: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom;- Central Europe: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Yugoslavia;- Mediterranean Europe: Albania, Cyprus, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain.The Western and Central Europe region includes all of Europe with the exception of Turkey and the countries of the former Soviet Union.

The region has diverse climate conditions that affect the patterns of water resources. This variety of climate conditions is due to: the configuration of Western and Central Europe, a peninsula of the Eurasian continent rather than a continent; a large range of latitude (35-72 °N);



its large opening to the maritime influence and the development of its coasts over the Arctic Overall, water resources are abundant at about 2 200 km3 in an average year (5 percent of the world’s water resources) and 4 270.4 m3/inhabitant/year. However, water resources are unevenly distributed between countries.

Eastern EuropeThe Eastern Europe region includes the Russian Federation and the eastern European and Baltic states. The total area of the region is about 18 million km2, covering 13.5 percent of the world’s land area of the world and accounting for 3.6 percent of its population. The countries of this region have been grouped in two subregions, based primarily on geographic conditions and, as far as possible, on hydroclimatic homogeneity (although the Russian Federation is subject to a wide variation of geographic and hydroclimatic conditions). The two subregions are:- Russian Federation: Russian Federation;- Other European countries of the former Soviet Union: Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.

The main climate features of the countries of the Eastern Europe region highlights the great variability both between and within countries, from polar to tropical humid. The water resources reflect this climate variability.

In terms of annual IRWR per inhabitant, the Eastern Europe region is characterized by an extreme variability: from a minimum of 227 m3 in the Republic of Moldova to more than 29 000 m3 in the Russian Federation. However, the water resources in the Russian Federation are very unevenly distributed in relation to the population. In the more densely populated western part, annual renewable surface water resources are estimated at about 2 000 m3/inhabitant compared with up to 190 000 m3/inhabitant in the Siberian and Far Eastern regions.



NON - CONVENTIONAL RESOURCES.With increasing pressure on natural freshwater in parts of the world, other sources of water are growing in importance. These non-conventional sources of water represent complementary supply sources that may be substantial in regions affected by extreme scarcity of renewable water resources. Such sources are accounted for separately from natural renewable water resources. They include:- the production of freshwater by desalination of brackish or saltwater (mostly for domestic purposes);- the reuse of urban or industrial wastewaters (with or without treatment), which increases the overall efficiency of use of water (extracted from primary sources), mostly in agriculture, but increasingly in industrial and domestic sectors. This category also includes agricultural drainage water.-Desalination: initially sea-water desalination technologies were based on distillation and hence energy consumption was very high. The development of more efficient technologies (such as



inverse osmosis) has reduced the cost of desalination considerably (below 1 EUR/m3). However, this technique still tends to be considerably more expensive than supply from conventional (surface water and groundwater) sources. Desalination of sea water or brackish groundwater is therefore mainly applied in places where no other sources are available. Sea-water desalination in Spain accounts for about 0,22 km3/year. Although this volume is small in comparison to the country’s total renewable water resources (111 km3/year), it represents a significant share of resources in the areas where this technology is applied (mainly the Canary and Balearic Islands). In Greece five desalination plants are in operation, all of them on islands.

Water re-use: is the use of wastewater or reclaimed water from one application such as municipal wastewater treatment for another application such as landscape watering. The reused water must be used for a beneficial purpose and in accordance with applicable rules (such as local ordinances governing water reuse). Factors that should be considered in an industrial water reuse program include (Brown and Caldwell, 1990):o identification of water reuse opportunities;o determination of the minimum water quality needed for the given use;o identification of wastewater sources that satisfy the water quality requirements;o determination of how the water can be transported to the new use.The reuse of wastewater or reclaimed water is beneficial because it reduces the demands on available surface and ground waters. Perhaps the greatest benefit of establishing water reuse programs is their contribution in delaying or eliminating the need to expand potable water supply and treatment facilities.

The main applications of this technique are irrigation in agriculture, parks, recreational areas, golf courses, etc. Usually, simplified water treatment is carried out, in order to guarantee minimum quality standards of the water to be re-used. Few studies and data about the re-use of waste-water are available, and further research is needed to assess the long-term effects of irrigation with treated waste-water on soils and agriculture.In France, waste-water re-use has become a part of regional water resources management policies. It is practised mostly in the southern part of the country and in coastal areas, compensating local water deficiencies. In Portugal it is expected that by the year 2000 the volume of treated waste-water will be around 10% of the water needs for irrigation in dry years. It is estimated that between 35.000 and 100.000 ha could be irrigated with treated waste-water. In Spain, the total volume of waste-water reclaimed amounts to 0,23 km3/year, being used mainly for irrigation in agriculture (89%), recreational areas and golf courses (6%), municipal use (2%), environmental uses (2%) and industry (1%).

Water recycling: is the reuse of water for the same application for which it was originally used. Recycled water might require treatment before it can be used again

D.2 Different Uses Inciting Water DemandVarious concepts are used to describe the diverse aspects of water use. Water abstraction is the quantity of water physically removed from its natural source. Water supply refers to the share of abstraction which is supplied to users (excluding losses in storage, conveyance and distribution), and water consumption means the share of supply which in terms of a water balance actually is used (as evaporation) whilst the remainder is reintroduced into the source of abstraction.

The term water demand is defined as the volume of water requested by users to satisfy their needs. In a simplified way it is often considered equal to water abstraction, although conceptually the two terms do not have the same meaning.

Agricultural water use.Over the past decades the trend in agricultural water use has, in general, been upwards, due to increasing use of water for irrigation. However, during recent years in several countries the rate of growth has slowed down. The total water abstraction for irrigation in Europe is around 105.068 Hm3/year. The mean water allocation for agriculture decreased from around 5.499 to 5.170 m3/ha/year between 1990-2001.

Reforms of Common Agricultural Policy will lead to changes in types of crop being cultivated, the area irrigated and the amount of water used. In principle, two trends can be distinguished. On the one hand, if production is reduced, the demand for production inputs, such as water, is



logically bound to diminish. On the other hand, there might be a switch towards more profitable crops, which at least in southern climates frequently require irrigation.

Domestic use.The total water use for urban purposes in Europe is 53.294 Hm3 /year which amounts for 18% of its total abstraction and 27% of its consumptive uses. Between the period 1990 - 2001 urban use per capita has decreased. Over this period, many changes have occurred which have influenced the patterns of urban water use: increasing, urbanization, changes of population habits, use of more efficient technologies and water saving devices, use of alternative sources of water (desalination, wastewater direct re-use), increasing metering, and the use of economic instruments (water charges and tariffs). Connection of population to water supply systems had also increased, especially in Mediterranean countries.

The water required for drinking and other domestic purposes is a significant proportion of the total water demand. The proportion of water for abstracted urban use ranges from about 6.5% in Germany to more than 50% in the United Kingdom.

Population distribution and density are key factors influencing the availability of water resources. Increased urbanization concentrates water demand and can lead to the overexploitation of local water resources. Higher standards of living are changing water demand patterns. This is reflected mainly in increased domestic water use, especially for personal hygiene. Most of the European population has indoor toilets, showers and/or baths for daily use. The result is that most of urban water consumption is for domestic use. Most of the water use in households is for toilet flushing (33%), bathing and showering (20-32%), and for washing machines and dishwashers (15%). The proportion of water used for cooking and drinking (3%) is minimal compared to the other uses.

Industrial water use.The total water use for industry in Europe is 34.194 Hm3 /year which amounts for 18% of its consumptive uses. Between the period 1990 - 2001 the industrial use has decreased consistently.

Over the period considered, different changes have occurred which have influenced the industrial water use: decline of industrial production, use of more efficient technologies with lower water requirements and the use of economic instruments (charges on abstractions and effluents).

The biggest industrial water users are the chemical industry, the steel, iron and metallurgy industries, and the pulp and paper industry, although in most European countries industrial abstractions have been declining since 1980. In western Europe this is due, primarily, to economic restructuring with closures in water-using industries such as textiles and steel, and a move towards less water-intensive industries. Technological improvements in water-using equipment and increased recycling and re-use have also contributed to the decline. In eastern Europe, abstractions seem to have diminished due to the serious decline in industrial activity across the whole sector.

Generally, pricing mechanisms have been used more extensively to encourage water use efficiencies in the industrial sector, where firms will adopt water-saving technologies if costs can be reduced, than in the household and agricultural sectors. Also charges for the discharge of contaminated water into the sewerage network are an important incentive for industries to improve process technologies and to reduce the amount of water used and discharged. Industrial sectors with the largest water needs are the chemical industry, steel, iron and metallurgy industries, and the pulp and paper industry.

Forecasts of industrial water use in Europe are generally downwards because of increased efficiency in industrial processes, greater water re-use and the decline of resource intensive industries in Europe.

Energy water use.



Water abstracted for energy production is considered a non-consumptive use and it accounts for around 30 % of all the uses in Europe. Western central and western Accession Countries are the largest users of water for energy production; in particular Belgium, Germany and Estonia where more than half of the abstracted water is used for energy production.

In general, the quantities of water abstracted for cooling are far in excess of those used by the rest of industry. However, cooling water is generally returned to the water cycle unchanged, apart from an increase in temperature and some possible contamination by biocides.

Tourism.In the Mediterranean Sea region, it was estimated in 1990 that 135 million tourists (international and domestic) stayed along the coasts, which represented more than half of the total tourism in all Mediterranean countries and doubled the coastal population.

Tourism places a wide range of pressures on local environments. The impact on water quantity (total and peak) depends on water availability in relation to the timing and location of the water demand from tourism and on the capability of the water supply system to meet peak demands.

The intensity of the natural resources use by tourism can conflict with other needs, especially in regions where water resources are scarce in summer, and with other sectors of economic development such as agriculture and forestry. Uncontrolled tourism development, typical in the past, has led to a degradation of the quality of the environment, particularly in coastal and mountain zones.

Tourist water use is generally higher than water use by residents. A tourist consumes around 300 litres per day; European household consumption is around 150-200 litres. In addition, recreational activities such as swimming pools, golf, and aquatic sports contribute to put pressure on water resources.

Others



D.3 Prioritised Uses in Different Climatic Zones

Water use by sector in Europe

On average, 42% of total water abstraction in Europe is used for agriculture, 23% for industry, 18 % for urban use and 18% for energy production. The breakdown of water consumption between the various economic sectors varies considerably from one region to another, depending on natural conditions and economic and demographic structures.

In France (64%), Germany (64%) and the Netherlands (55%), for example, most of the water abstracted is used to produce electricity. In Greece (88%), Spain (72%) and Portugal (59%), water is mostly used for irrigation. In Northern European countries such as Finland and Sweden, little water is used in agriculture. In contrast, cellulose and paper production, both highly intensive water-consuming industries, are significant activities and water is abstracted mainly for industrial purposes (66% and 28% respectively of total abstractions).

The role of irrigation differs between countries and regions because of climatic conditions. In Southern Europe, it is an essential element of agricultural production, whereas in Central and Northern Europe, irrigation is generally used to improve production in dry summers.

Southern European countries account for 74 % of the total irrigated area in Europe. This is expected to increase further following new irrigation development in some countries. In the central EU Accession Countries, changes in the economic structure and land ownership, and the consequent collapse of large-scale irrigation and drainage systems and agriculture production have been the main drivers for agriculture changes over the past 10 years.

Industrial water demand is especially pertinent to urban areas with high populations, as industries are usually located in these areas. The amount of water used by industry and the proportion of total abstraction accounted for by industry vary greatly between countries. Abstraction for industrial purposes in Europe has been decreasing since 1980.

The urban water use per capita in the Nordic countries is higher than in central Europe, varying between 104 m3/inhabitant/y in Sweden to 262 m3/inhabitant/y in Iceland. Some studies suggest that this high use is related to personal washing and dishwasher use. In central Europe, variations are between 68 m3/inhabitant/y in Germany to 147, 122 and 106 m3/inhabitant/y in Switzerland, Ireland and UK respectively. These variations reflect differences between the structure of water supply systems and water saving measures applied.



Household Consumption in Europe

The northern Accession Countries use 21% of their abstraction for urban purposes which accounts for 54% of their consumptive uses. Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia, with 136, 110 and 110 m3/inhabitant/y respectively, have the highest urban water use per capita. The high levels of use in Romania and Bulgaria can be explained by the number of breakdowns in water-supply networks, lack of water metering, water losses and water wastage. Structural reforms are taking place slowly.

The share of urban water in southern Europe is 16% of its total abstraction and 21% of its consumptive uses, the lowest in Europe together with the southern Accession Countries.

The relative high use per capita in Mediterranean countries, around 120 m3/inhabitant/y in 2001, reflects their hot climate (increase in water for showering, garden use, public services), and the trend reflects changes in lifestyle derived from increasing urbanization

The southern Accession Countries use 11% of their abstraction for urban purposes and the same percentage of their consumptive uses. Urban water use, from freshwater resources has declined sharply in the last two years. Desalination plants provide water to main cities and the coastal tourist areas to avoid water shortages and rationing water to population.

E Common Perception of Water Balances and Droughts (Conclusions / Recommendations)

F REFERENCES

WEB SITES

B;B1;B2;B3

http://www.apat.it/http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/concept.htmB1

www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/predict.htmhttp://dmc.engr.wisc.edu/courses/hazards/BB02-07.htmlhttp://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/droughts/causesofdroughts.shtmlhttp://www.unep.org/DEPI/PDF/EEsnewsletterissue2.pdfhttp://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/natural/drought/B2

http://www.thewaterpage.com/drghtwater.htmhttp://www.thewaterpage.com/drought_water_scarcity.htmhttp://www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/webpub/scarcity.htm

B4

http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/consumption.php



http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/webpub/scarcity.htm

http://www.thewaterpage.com/drought_water_scarcity.htm

http://www.thewaterpage.com/drghtwater.htm

http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/natural/drought/

http://www.unep.org/DEPI/PDF/EEsnewsletterissue2.pdf

http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/droughts/causesofdroughts.shtml

http://dmc.engr.wisc.edu/courses/hazards/BB02-07.html

http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/predict.htm

http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/concept.htm

http://www.apat.it/


C1

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/dw/drought/DROUGHT_FINAL.dochttp://www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/webpub/scarcity.htmC3

http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/consumption.phpC4

http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/005/Y4473E/Y4473E00.HTMD1

http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/005/Y4473E/Y4473E00.HTMhttp://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/ecosys.phpD2

http://reports.eea.eu.int/92-9157-202-0/en/3.5.pdfhttp://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/consumption.phpD3

http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/consumption.phphttp://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_media/water/indicators/WQ02%2C2004.05/index_html


http://themes.eea.eu.int/Specific_media/water/indicators/WQ02%2C2004.05/index_html



http://reports.eea.eu.int/92-9157-202-0/en/3.5.pdf

http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/freshwater_europe/ecosys.php

http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/005/Y4473E/Y4473E00.HTM

http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/005/Y4473E/Y4473E00.HTM


http://www.fao.org/ag/agl/aglw/webpub/scarcity.htm

http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/dw/drought/DROUGHT_FINAL.doc


CHAPTER II DROUGHT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

G BACKGROUND

Drought episodes have occurred more frequently during the last decades. Based on this information, it is often reported that drought severity and frequency have increased in conjunction with climate change, although clear evidence for this is not yet conclusive. Climate change, drought and permanent water scarcity are interrelated, but these processes should not be confused, or interchangeably referred to, if we are to address the complex issues of drought and water management on a sound scientific basis.

Drought is a naturally occurring phenomenon and a normal part of variability of the usual meteorological conditions, according with the climate characteristics. As a natural hazard, drought imposes differential vulnerability on the different countries depending on their degree of exposure to aridity, and their drought management policies. The compounded effect of hazard and vulnerability generally represents the risk associated with drought events. Exposure to drought risk varies from country to country.

Nevertheless, nothing can be done to reduce the recurrence of drought events in the region. Therefore, drought management should not be regarded as managing a temporary crisis. Rather, it should be seen as a risk management process that places emphasis on monitoring and managing emerging stress conditions and other hazards associated with climate variability.

An important feature of drought as a natural hazard is that it is a complex, slow-onset phenomenon, essentially unpredictable and can only be monitored. Weather forecasting does not mean drought prediction, even in the case of meteorological drought. Our predictive capacity for agricultural, hydrological and socio-economic droughts is even more limited, if not predictable at all. While scientific advances such as seasonal climate prediction techniques for tropical regions have provided new opportunities for weather prediction, our understanding of the climate system mechanisms in the area as a whole, currently limits their application in this region to very modest levels. One thing is certain, however, the drought is a recurring event that has strongly influenced the physical, natural and human features over the millennium, especially in South Europe and Mediterranean countries.

CHAPTER II – Drought Planning and Management


Analysis of the drought management policies in the region today indicates that decision-makers react to the drought episodes mainly through a crisis-management approach by declaring a national drought emergency programme to alleviate drought impacts, rather than on developing comprehensive, long-term drought preparedness policies and plans of actions that may significantly reduce the risks and vulnerabilities to extreme weather events. Drought planning tendencies nowadays drifts towards moving from crisis to risk management.

A drought plan will provide a dynamic framework for an ongoing set of actions to prepare for, and effectively respond to drought, including: periodic reviews of the achievements and priorities; readjustment of goals, means and resources; as well as strengthening institutional arrangements, planning, and policy-making mechanisms for drought mitigation.

Permanent information monitoring and early warning systems are the foundation for effective drought policies and plans, as well as effective network and coordination between central, regional and local levels.

In addition to an effective early warning system, the drought management strategy should include sufficient capacity for contingency planning before the onset of drought, and appropriate policies to reduce vulnerability and increase resilience to drought.

The hydrology of dry areas is complex and poorly characterised. Data availability is extremely limited, due to lack of resources, and to the technical difficulties of capturing events which are infrequent and often extremely damaging. Particular hydrological behaviour occurs: rainfall can be intense and spatially highly variable, ephemeral flows in alluvial channels lose water through bed infiltration, hence streamflow is a non-unique measure of runoff generation, which is strongly scale-dependent. Surface flows are often a major source of recharge for alluvial groundwater, yet surface water-groundwater interactions are complex and not well understood. Appropriate high quality data are required to characterize these processes, and to generalize for regional application; research and training in hydrometric methods is needed for the region.

Modelling tools for flood and water resources management must address the specific features of dry areas; rainfall-runoff methods must represent appropriate processes and require calibration for regional application. Particular aspects of importance are surface water-groundwater interactions and groundwater recharge. An integrated modelling capability is needed to support appropriate water resource development. This includes distributed models to capture spatial variability, the representation of surface water/groundwater interactions, and gis support.

Appropriate water resources developments must be evaluated, for example rainfall harvesting, small-scale reservoirs (tunisian case), and groundwater recharge management.

Specific problems must be addressed as appropriate, such as saline intrusion in the coastal/island situation. There is in addition the need for protection of surface and groundwater quality.

Water resource development and drought management must be set in a framework of comprehensive water policy and integrated planning and must take into account socioeconomic issues. Unconventional sources may be necessary, such as water importation or desalination. Grey water reuse has significant potential to reduce demand; new approaches to sanitation may be appropriate to reduce the use of potable quality water. Alternative patterns of domestic water use and impact on demand of water saving measures should be considered in the context of appraisal of the role of demand management.

The Water Framework Directive acknowledges (Article 4 [6]) that extreme drought events can adversely affect the status (both quality and quantity) of water bodies. In order to minimise these risks and help water bodies achieve the requirements of the Directive, certain conditions need to be met including taking all practical steps to alleviate drought and prevent further deterioration in status. Furthermore, in droughts periods it is not considered an infraction of the Directive if a deterioration of the water takes place, in particular, for reasons of major force or natural causes that have not been able to foresee reasonably lingering droughts.



Drivers (supply/demand) for implementing common measures are not at all the same in all countries and measures are implemented at very different scales. Different measures that can be taken are the following:

- Enhance reservoirs operations/strategies to improve quality and quantity- Increase the supply and reduce the demand- Planning strategies at basin level, conservation measures- Use of non conventional resources (desalinisation), recycling- Demand/use priorisation- Enforcement, tarification- Best scale to address the issues- Measure for impact mitigation

Other issues to be considered:- Sustainable management of water and quality strategic planning.- Integrated management methodologies and tools at catchment scale - Management of water in the city and waste water treatment and reuse- Prevention and mitigation of saline water intrusion - Development of new long-term observing capacity- Protection, conservation and enhancement of European cultural heritage

WATER SCARCITY GROUP ACTIVITIES

This concern of the Water directors has derived to the creation of a working group on scarcity led by France and, recently, Italy. This working group has met several times and has contribute to elaborate a workshop in common with the research sphere held in Palermo on October 8 and 9 of 2004. During the meetings the working group has identified that the scarcity issue should be treated through two phenomena leading to different actions and effects:

- Drought events management- Remaining unbalanced equilibrium of water resources

As was said in Palermo report about activities developed by the Group, quantitative issues are probably less developed than quality issues in the technical articles of the WFD. This is why as already done before for floods, it has appeared necessary to investigate the water scarcity issue. The main objective of the drafting group is to provide and share information and possible actions in order to react on scarcity issues. The drafting group will have to stress the links and potential gaps of water scarcity issues and WFD. The final output will be a report addressing different types of definitions, issues, and related actions. In order to share the first outputs and experiences of the drafting group Cyprus and the ARID cluster have proposed organise a workshop in May 2005, in Cyprus.The main document to be produced is proposed to be divided in different chapter according to the proposal of the group and the conclusions of the Palermo workshop.

The document will mainly integrate the tentative following chapters:

Introduction. Water Framework Drective and scarcity: concerns and gapsChapter I. Definitions and assessment of the different phenomena

Chapter II. Drought Planning and ManagementChapter III. Long term unbalanced water management

Conclusions. Lessons to be learned

According to conclusions of meeting held in Rome (10 February), the task has been distributed among different task forces, concerning this paper to Chapter II.

The objective of Chapter II is to provide an overview of drought phenomenon and its impacts in the region, and to present an approach to drought preparedness and mitigation.



A first step will consist establish a Table of Contends by common agreement in this Group , before 15 of March 2005.

This paper is a reviewed proposal discussed and modified with comments and contributions from group members:

H INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

(Linked with Chapter Definitions and Assessments of different phenomena)

Necessary introduction in order to remark the differences between drought and scarcity:

Drought in a region: annual rainfall less than 60% normal during more two consecutive years in more of 50% of area (WMO)

Drought: prolonged absence, marked deficiency, or poor distribution of precipitation (International Glossary of Hydrology –IGH-)

Hydrological drought: period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged to give rise to a shortage of water as evidenced by below normal streamflow and lake levels and/or the depletion of soil moisture and a lowering of groundwater levels (IGH)

Scarcity: permanent situation of shortage with reference to the water demands in a water supply system or in a large region, characterised by arid climate or a fast growth of water consumptive demands (MEDROPLAN)

Drought is an abnormal situation, more o less prolonged, but transitory, while scarcity is a permanent estate of water shortage.

Other concepts to define in common:

Vulnerability Hazard Risk Uncertainty Drought impact. Preparedness Prevention Mitigation Early warning Crisis management Proactive management

I DROUGHT CHARACTERIZATION: HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

I.1 Historical droughts characterisationMeteorological, agronomic, socio-economic and hydrological droughts

I.2 Historical drought analysis: what has happened? What has been done?

- Drought patterns: duration, intensity, spatial extent- Available resources, water use, ecological consequences- Measures taken, emergency works, …- Strategic use of groundwater. - Main impacts



I.3 Drought Diagnosis: what have we learned?

- Drought and water resources budget Water resources : capacity to be forced in exceptional situation

o Natural resources. Available resources. Non conventional. Reuseo Groundwater and combined useo Qualitative aspectso Water resources management system.

Water uses and restrictions: demands priorities and vulnerabilityo Demandso Environmental requirements

Drought and water budget. Summary- Drought hazard, vulnerability and risk- Measures and effectiveness analysis- Effects on water bodies status and on wetlands

J DROUGHT AWARENESS: PERMANENT MONITORING

J.1 Indicator system and thresholds- Monitor System. Description:

Index used Monitoring network Drought intensity and thresholds

J.2 Monitor system calibration with historical droughts Water resources system modelling Time series analysis Correlation indexes

J.3 Drought management and monitor system links Zoning Drought impact types Thresholds, drought intensity and progressive measures to be taken

J.4 Indicators and Water Frame Work Exceptional circumstances Drawing Indicator System stating in River Basin Management Plan

K DROUGHT MITIGATION PLANNING: STRATEGIC PLANNING

K.1 Identify group of risk and its vulnerability for different hazards- Status of water bodies- Population- Environmental demands- Agriculture- Industry- Recreational uses- Energy producers- Others involved



K.2 Prepare Drought Plan

- Legal framework- Measures selection to mitigate drought impact, according risk groups

Measures classification: strategic, tactical and emergency measureso Measures in the context of water resources systemo Demands: priorities, compatibility and restrictionso Steps to prevent further deterioration in status of water bodieso Economical measureso Water banks. Water rights interchange

Special focus on Emergency Plan for urban water supply- Operational rules. Progressive measures activation according to indicators state- Develop organisational structure- Publicise the proposed Plan, solicit reaction- Endowment of economic resources. Financing system. Contribution of users and

stakeholders- Post-Drought evaluation

K.3 Measures to be taken under exceptional circumstances to be stated in the River Management Plan (priorities for water use during drought emergencies)

K.4 Extreme temporal thresholds to relax water bodies good status requirements

L PREPAREDNESS, PREVENTION AND PROACTIVE DROUGHT MANAGEMENT: NECESSARY DROUGHT FRAMEWORK

L.1 Improving the effectiveness of water use

L.2 Economical, institutional and legal agreements L.3 Education Programs. Social awareness

L.4 Research.

M COMMON PRINCIPLES: MAIN CONCLUSIONS

M.1 Integrated water management and sustainable use of water

M.2 Drought is not permanent water scarcity

M.3 Particular features of drought in Mediterranean countries

M.4 Need for drought preparedness

M.5 Drought management instead of crisis management

M.6 Most effective measures



CHAPTER II LONG TERM IMBALANCES IN SUPPLY AND DEMAND

A Preamble

Competition for freshwater resources is increasing because of increased demand, a greater variety of uses and users, and depletion of some resources and loss of others because of pollution. It is however estimated that all users could be reasonably served in the future if measures are taken at all levels to improve water management. To reach the goal of sustainable water management, a balance has to be achieved between the abstractive uses of water (e.g. abstraction for public water supply, irrigation and industrials uses), the in-stream uses (e.g. recreation, ecosystem maintenance), the discharge of effluents and the impact of diffuse sources. In this sense, quantity and quality must be taken into account. Quality aspects are taking into account in WFD. Potential measures for improvement can be divided into those that aim to improve the water demand uses and those that aim to increase water supply systems. This should start with a management environment that enables the emergence of new tools to help fulfil the demands using available water. In simple words, the ultimate goal is to secure adequate water in the right time at the right place, maximising the values brought about by a rational use of that water.

The limited availability of water resources coupled with increased water demands are the principal causes for the water scarcity problem. Remedial measures has for long been based on the development of new water resources to offset the increasing demand required for achieving development goals. However, the ever increasing abstraction of the limited resource to meet an increasingly widening scope of multi-disciplinary uses and avert global heating hazards, have stimulated a new management strategy mainly economising on water use rather than working out new water resources. Water savings are therefore achieved through a control of demands to avert the long-term imbalances in water supply and demand.

Driving forces [contact EEA for figures or redaction ?]

Recent assessments on trends and evolution of water demand in Europe have revealed that there were a clear stabilisation of demand during 1990’s. Abstractions from both surface water and groundwater sources rose steadily from 1980 to 1995, but demand management measures of reducing leakage, use of more water-efficient appliances, metering of supply and recycling were being more effective.

In northern Europe, it is public water supply that exerts the greatest pressure on water resources. In southern Europe, the demand for irrigation exerts the greatest pressure on resources and since 1998 the evolution of irrigated land is increased as is water demand for irrigation.

This trend in demand is not that clear when looking into regional levels in countries. The seasonal water demand variability as well as the local variability in a country make some increase areas particularly vulnerable. Abstractions for different uses exert the most significant pressure on the quantity of freshwater resources. The total water abstraction in Europe is about 353 km3/year, which means that 10 % of Europe total freshwater resources is abstracted which means a severe water stress in some areas.

Need for a more efficient management of water resources is explained by the change from the concept that water is free and abundant to a scarce resource and an economic commodity.

CHAPTER III – Long term imbalances in supply and demand


B Type of Management Measures for Fulfilling Demands Using Available Water

In the past, efforts to satisfy increasing demand have often been expended principally on increasing the supply of resources, which were available abundantly and at relatively low cost. However, the relationship between water abstraction and water availibility has turned into a major stress factor in the exploitation of water resources in Europe.

Therefore, it is logical that the investigation of a sustainable water use in applicatioj of the WFD is now concentrating on the possibilities of influencing water demand in a way which is favourable for the water environment.

- Institutional aspects : conflit resolution and administrative settings

B.1 Demand-Side Measures

- View of demand-side management in other economic sectors like electricity, gas or oil.

- Public or private matter for water management ?

B.1.1 Technological approaches

- Water saving devices : the impact of the use of water-saving devices on water demand is different depending on the importance of household demand in different countries in relation to total urban water demand and has to be relativised compared to other sector activities.

- Water metering

- Leakage reduction in distribution networks

- New technologies and changing processes in industry (closed circuits) and agriculture (examples on irrigation methods in some countries)

- Switching from Gravity to Pressurised Irrigation and other technologies in order more efficient use of water, when are economical feasible

- Inter-usage water transfer

B.1.2 Economic approaches

- General considerations - water charges are base on different policies, depending on the different availability of water resources at national or regional level. Need for a socioeconomic approach to understand better the interaction between different actors in order to establishe the adequate policy instrument.

- Impact of CAP policies on agricultural sector.

- examples of pricing methods for irrigation in different countries

- Water supply and industry sector

- Economic Incentives/Fines

- Water bank and water markets



B.1.3 User education and information

Information and educational campaigns in all sectors are allways part of a wider plan for using water more eficiently in order to encourage more rational water use and change habits.

Information campaigns are considered to be an important part of initiatives such as promoting water-saving devices, raising prices to pay for leakage and encouraging more rational water use.

In the agricultural sector, the aim must be to help farmers optimise irigation. This can be achieved through trainig (on irrigation techniques), and through regular information on climatic conditions, irrigation volume advice for different crops, and advice on when to start/stop the irrigation period adjusting volumes according to rainfall and type of soil.

- Wider User Participation

- Education and Awareness Campaigns

B.1.4 Water reuse

- Treated wastewater can be indirectly reused when it is discharged into a watercourse, diluted and used again downstream.

- Guidelines for treated wastewater reuse and new technologies.

CYPRUS : TWO PRACTICAL MEASURES FOR CONSERVATION OF DRINKING WATER

Conservation of drinking water has been initiated as a practical means of assisting water demand management where, for instance, capital expenditure on water resource development (new dams, main conveyors, water treatment etc) might be reduced or deferred. “Water saved is exactly the same as water supplied” and “One person´s reduction in water use makes water available for someone else to use”.

As a practical measure to save drinking water, a scheme has been put into practice during the last few years, for subsidizing the drilling of private boreholes or the recycling of “grey water” for watering the garden and/or for the operation of the WC´s in the individual households. With these two practical measures there is at the moment a saving of 2,0 million cubic meters per year of drinking water. This is because only about half of the average annual supply of domestic water in Cyprus needs to be of drinking water quality. Over 50% of the demand for water could be met by water of a lower grade quality, such as processed water.

SECOND QUALITY WATER FROM BOREHOLES IN THE BUILT-UP AREAS

In Cyprus there are shallow aquifers, the depth of which is around 60 meters from ground level. There are such aquifers in some areas of towns and villages. These aquifers are recharged by the onsite wastewater systems, such as septic tanks/absorption pits in addition to natural recharge from precipitation and river flows.

The Government of Cyprus through the Department of Water Development is subsidizing this scheme to encourage the consumers to use this second quality water for watering their gardens and for use in operating the WC´s. Each consumer can drill his own borehole outside his house. The cost of drilling such a borehole with the installation of a small electro-submersible pump is approximately €1.500 from which the Government gives to the consumer €350 as a subsidy. The connection of the borehole with the WC´s of the household is easy, and the cost is approximately €550. For this connection the Government gives another €350 as subsidy.

With this scheme there is a drinking water conservation of between 30% and 65%.

RECYCLING OF GREY WATER

In Cyprus lightly polluted or Grey Water from baths, showers, hand or wash-basins and washing machines is kept separate from heavily polluted or Black Water from WC´s and kitchens. As a result it is relatively easy to intercept each type of wastewater at household level for subsequent treatment and reuse. This reuse is novel in Cyprus.

After five years research and two years (1997-1998) experimental work on a pilot scale the Government of Cyprus decided to subsidize the installation of a Grey Water Treatment Plant. The cost of such a treatment plant for a household with a production of 1 cubic meter per day is €1.400 and a subsidy of €700 is given. With this scheme there is a conservation of drinking water from 30% to 45% of the per capita water consumption. This means that the conservation of drinking water from every two persons covers the needs of the third person.



B.1.5 Integrated water management approaches

- WFD approach : the management of water is very different accross Europe, and there is a range of regional and decentralised policies. The WFD is one important step towards integrated management of water resources at a river basin level and towards harmonisation of water policies of member states.

- Water substitution

- Improvement of monitoring

- Recycling process water

- Downstream Regulation

- In the spirit of WFD, develop need for shared management indicators characterising the deficit status of a territory, factoring in structural or induced deficiencies.

B.1.6 Quota Control

B.2 Supply-Side Measures

B.2.1 Natural catchment storage

Water naturally stored in a catchment as lakes, rivers, aquifers and wetlands is globally abundant in Europe but seasonal and regional variability.

Figures

B.2.2 Conjunctive Use between Surface and Ground Waters

B.2.3 Link with WFD

B.2.4 Dams

B.2.5 Use of basin-external water resources

- Desalinization and other technologies creating new resourcesWhen technical and economical feasible.

- Increasing availability of water resources (Creation of new resources):Actions in order to increase resources available may be considered when the imbalance is such that all the demand sides measures would be insufficient to reduce it and when the environmental impact of the work is reduced. Collective commitments to limit demand, with results in line with the considerations at stake, must be taken, either by using existing collective structures, or by setting up structures grouping together the uses concerned. To do so, withdrawals should not be increased when creating the new resource, since an increase could contribute to maintaining the imbalance.

- Inter-basin Water Transfers:



The main objective of inter-basin water transfers is water security. In some arid regions, interbasin water transfer is not a question of choice, but a necessity act.

Need of common principles under WFD and a sustainable approach of water resources management.

C Efficiency of Proposed Measures per Catchment

C.1 Environmental Concerns (WFD)

C.2 Social Concerns

C.3 Economic Profitability

D Common Principles (Conclusions and Recommendations)


introduction - circabc - welcome · web viewirrigation is the main cause of groundwater...

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