Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat)

E2: Environmental statistics and accounts; sustainable development

e-mail contact : ESTAT-SDI-EU2020-INDICATORS@ec.europa.eu

The indicator is part of the EU Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator set. It is used to monitor progress towards SDG 6 on  clean water and sanitation.

Among other things, SDG 6 calls for ensuring universal access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, and ending open defecation. It also aims at improving water quality and water-use efficiency and encouraging sustainable abstractions and supply of freshwater. Protecting and restoring water-related ecosystems such as forests, mountains, wetlands and rivers is essential for mitigating water scarcity, as is the implementation of integrated water resources management.

Indicator can be considered as global SDG indicator 6.4.2 "Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources".

The 7th Environmental Action Programme of the European Commission aims at increasing resource and thus water efficiency. To ensure water use in appropriate quantity is one objective of the Water Framework Directive. 

The indicator measures the annual total fresh water abstraction in a country as a percentage of its long-term annual average available water (LTAA) from renewable fresh water resources (groundwater and surface water). Total fresh water abstraction includes water removed from any fresh water source, either permanently or temporarily. Mine water and drainage water as well as water abstractions from precipitation are included, whereas water used for hydroelectricity generation (in situ use) is excluded.

The minimum period taken into account for the calculation of long-term annual averages of total fresh water abstraction is 30 years. The warning threshold of 20 % for this indicator distinguishes a non-stressed from a water scarce region, with severe scarcity occurring where the WEI exceeds 40 %. Lower indicator values can be associated with lower pressures on groundwater resources.

The indicator is limited because i) the total fresh water abstraction does not distinguish between abstracted water that is redirected after use (and after appropriate treatment) back to the water body or if it is used for irrigation purposes with inevitable evaporation and; ii) the abstraction and WEI regard national data and disregard regional and seasonal changing conditions during the course of the year (water bodies/river basins with different level of water scarcity and hot spots in summer time).

Furthermore, data at the national level cannot reflect water stress situations at the regional or local level. The indicator does not reflect the uneven spatial distribution of resources and may therefore mask regional or local risks of water stress.

% of long term average available water (LTAA)
i. total
ii. fresh surface water
iii. fresh groundwater

Calendar year.

The indicator is assessed to be of low overall accuracy due to the limitations it presents:

• The total fresh water abstraction does not distinguish between abstracted water that is redirected after use (and after appropriate treatment) back to the water body or if it is used for irrigation purposes with inevitable evaporation.

• The abstraction and WEI are national data and disregard regional and seasonal changing conditions during the course of the year (water bodies/river basins with different level of water scarcity and hot spots in summer time).

Further details on accuracy can be found in the metadata of the source datasets (see link to related metadata).

ESS (OECD/ESTAT joint questionaire)

Data source: Water Statistics of the European Statistical System (ESS).

Data provider: Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, based on data reported by the countries with OECD/ESTAT joint questionnaire.

Every 2 years

The indicator is updated every two years with annual data.

T+2 years

New data points are disseminated within two years after the latest reference year.

< 75% EU MS or no EU aggregate

No EU aggregate available. Data are presented for all EU Member States except Cyprus, Portugal and Slovakia; covers also the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Albania, Serbia, Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina (by combining data points over 3 years).

< 75% EU MS

Comparability between reporting countries needs to be considered with reservation due to the different nature of external inflow and internal flow (which is precipitation minus actual evapotranspiration), as their share in renewable freshwater resources varies considerably among countries.

> 10 years

Presented time series starts in 2000.

> 4 data points

Length of comparable time series without methodological break is longer than 4 data points. Comparability over time is generally good, but can be limited due to data gaps and breaks in series.

Analysis of indicator is presented in Eurostat's annual monitoring report on Sustainable development in the EU (progress towards SDGs in the EU context).

See table  sdg_06_60

Eurostat dedicated section on SDGs: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/sdi/overview

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