EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION  
Brussels, 18.5.2010 
SEC(2010)573 
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
 
Accompanying document to the 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMI SSION TO THE COUNCIL 
AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
Second Follow-up Report to the Communication  on water scarcity and droughts in the 
European Union (COM(2007) 414 final) 
  
{COM(2010)228 final} 
 
EN 3   EN Follow-up of the Work programme for the im plementation of the measures of the 
Communication on water scarcity and droughts 
POLICY OPTIONS  RESPONSIBILITY 
  TIMING  STATE OF PLAY  
1. PUTTING THE RIGHT PRICE TAG ON WATER       
– Combining effective water pricing 
with metering –   –   –  
Introduce water pricing policies with incentives 
for efficient water use; make the "user pays" principle the rule (Article 9 WFD) National By 2010 Reported to be 
advanced – to 
be checked in 
the RBMPs 
Continue efforts to spread metering programmes more widely in all water using sectors - including 
compulsory controls on ab stractions (Article11(3) 
of WFD)      
Take into account the OECD Work Programme 
on sustainable financing for sound water management   End 2008-
March 
2009 Ongoing 
2. ALLOCATING WATER AND WATER -RELATED 
FUNDING MORE EFFICIENTLY       
– Improving land-use planning –   –   –  
Policy options of White Paper on adaptation to 
climate change EU From 2009 Ongoing 
Follow-up of CAP Health Check on cross-
compliance EU 2008/2009 Ongoing 
Discussions on the post-2013 CAP (in the 
framework of the cross-compliance system) and cohesion policies EU From 2013 Not started 
Study on impact of biofuel development on water 
availability EU Nov 2008 Completed 
Continue stringent implementation of SEA 
Directive in all economic sectors National Now Ongoing 
– Financing water efficiency –   –   –  
Followup of CAP Health Check on modulation 
and rural development EU 2008/2009 Ongoing 
Study on place of WFD issues in rural 
development programmes EU Oct 2008 Completed 
 
EN 4   EN Consider with Member States review of 
Community strategic guidelines on cohesion 2007-2013 EU and 
national From 2009 No review 
foreseen. 
Guidelines to 
be 
supplemented 
by a 
Communication
Discussions on the post-2013 CAP (in the framework of the cross-compliance system)  EU From 2013 Not started 
Improve use of EU and national funds for water 
management within the programmes for 2007-2013 (including as a result of on-going evaluations) National 2009/2010 Ongoing 
Continue efforts to further develop fiscal 
incentives to promote wate r-efficient devices and 
practices  National Now Ongoing 
3. IMPROVING DROUGHT RISK MANAGEMENT       
– Developing drought risk management 
plans –   –   –  
Report on drought management plans EU 2007 Completed 
Development of drought management plans 
(pursuant to article 13(5) WFD) National By end 
2009 Delay of the 
consultation 
procedures on 
draft RBMP – 
to be checked 
in the RBMPs 
– Developing an observatory and an 
early warning system on droughts –   –   –  
Develop European Drought Observatory and early 
warning system EU By 2012 Prototype 
testing ongoing
– Further optimising the use of the EU 
Solidarity Fund and the European Mechanism for Civil Protection –   –   –  
In the framework of the next budget review 
examine whether further progress needs to be made in the definition of the criteria and eligible operations for the use of the EUSF to better 
respond to drought events EU From 2009 Preparatory 
work ongoing 
In relation to the Community Civil Protection Mechanism, consider all opportunities to focus on drought issues in future  annual work programmes.  From 2009 Completed  
 
EN 5   EN Request the Civil Prot ection Expert Group on 
early warning systems to develop an approach to optimise the use of the drought early warning system and anticipate any civil protection preparatory action  EU Once early 
warning 
system 
operational Not completed 
4. CONSIDERING ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY 
INFRAESTRUCTURES     
Commission preliminary assessment of alternative 
options EU Nov 2008  Completed  
Take all adverse effects linked to any new water supply infrastructure fully into account in the environmental assessment National Now Ongoing 
5. FOSTERING WATER EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGIES 
AND PRACTICES     
Assessment of possible needs for standards for 
water-using devices EU Mid 2009 Completed 
Commission's proposal to include certain water-
using devices in the Ecodesign Directive EU July 2008 Completed 
Consider inclusion of wate r efficiency criteria in 
performance standards for buildings EU From 2009 Ongoing 
Assessment of possible need for a new directive 
for the water performance of buildings EU Mid 2009 Ongoing 
Inclusion of a performan ce indicator on the use of 
water in the proposal for revising the EMAS Regulation EU July 2008 Completed 
Enhance efforts to further adopt binding 
performance criteria for new buildings and for public and private networks, with systems of fines for excessive leakages National Now Only few 
countries 
reported actions
Continue efforts to develop voluntary agreements with economic sectors that need water EU and 
National Now Ongoing 
6. FOSTERING THE EMERGENCE OF A WATER 
SAVING CULTURE IN EUROPE       
Explore, together with CSR Europe, the 
possibility of launching an Alliance initiative on the efficient use of water EU End 2008 Will not be 
launched in the near future 
– Follow-up of Action Plan on SCP/SIP      
Encourage the extension of existing EU labelling 
schemes in order to promote water-friendly devices      
– Follow-up of Green Paper on agricultural 
product quality EU 2008/2009  Ongoing 
 
EN 6   EN Consider in the light of  the public consultation 
how (1) water management can be better integrated into certification schemes (2) these schemes can be used to promote water-friendly products      
Continue efforts to develop actions in education, 
information and communication National Now Ongoing 
7. IMPROVING KNOWLEDGE AND DATA 
COLLECTION       
– Set up a water scarcity and drought 
information system throughout Europe –   –   –  
Set up agreed indicators on the extent and impacts 
of water scarcity and droughts EU 2008/2009 Ongoing 
Present an annual European assessment based on 
data provided by MS EU From 2009 Ongoing 
– Research and technological 
development opportunities –   –   –  
Action focused on investigation of Europe's risk 
from droughts, including the development of a platform of exchange EU May 2008-
Nov 2009 Launched 
 
ANNEX 
Additional information to the Second Follow- up Report to the Communication on water 
scarcity and droughts 
1. Putting the right price tag on water 
According to the information received from Member  States, in general, it can be stated that 
the tariff systems  for drinking water supply and sanita tion adopted by most Member States 
are at a very advanced stage of implementa tion. However, charges for all non-domestic users 
are being implemented more sl owly (UK), and some actions are still necessary regarding 
industrial and agricu ltural uses (BE). Most wate r suppliers are required by law to set tariffs to 
cover capital and operation and main tenance costs (FI). Capital co sts are partly subsidised by 
the municipality only in some small municipal wa ter utilities. The adaptation of tariff systems 
that take account of the principle of cost r ecovery may result in citizens' water bills being 
increased, which makes the changes difficult to accept: the new tariff systems are, 
consequently being adopted gradually. 
Tariffs that recover the full supply and sanitation cost need to be increased in some cases by 
20% (ES, Galicia) or even 85% (LT). However,  some current cost re covery policies do not 
always include the resource and environmental co sts. Some countries (PT, DE) have reported 
that they have incorpor ated these costs in the water suppl y or wastewater service charges. 
Others partially recover these costs via taxes to be paid by water users (LT) or plan to recover 
 
EN 7   EN them through charges linked to agricultural diffuse  pollution (nutrients and pesticides) rather 
than to water intakes (BE). In certain parts of Europe charging principles are under 
development while other parts have still not  agreed on the methodol ogy for payments by 
households 
The effects of exhaustive billing measures on wa ter services have been favourable in some 
Member States, where per capita consumption fell on ce prices rose in line with increased cost 
recovery, and the trend seems to continue.  
However, in other Member States water co nsumption has increased even though costs are 
being recovered in full. The applic ation of progressive block tariffs1 (FR, UK, ES, MT, PT) 
and applying penalties for excessive consumpti on and discounts for water savings (ES) are the 
most widespread ways of discouraging ex cessive consumption. Temporary or seasonal 
modification of prices (FR) or water resource le vies depending on the scarcity rate associated 
with the basin concerned (PT, UK) are also  applied for promoti ng water efficiency. 
Concerning efforts to spread metering  programmes in all water-u sing sectors, including 
compulsory controls on abstractions, it was re ported that the use of meters for domestic 
drinking water supply is reaching a high level of  implementation in MS (more than 90% in 
LT). Some shared meters in collective buildings  are being replaced by individual meters in 
each household. The metering of non-domestic water uses is also improving, especially where 
users are connected to the public supply (UK, Sc otland). The metering a nd control of direct 
abstractions by final user s is also required and is usually associated with the authorisation 
process itself (AT, CZ, BE, FR, ES, PL). The modernisation of irrigation systems and the 
replacement of traditional gravity irrigation with pressurised systems (ES) allows easier 
metering of the supplied volume. In some southern  European river basins legal measures have 
been adopted to also control the existing gr oundwater extractions (ES, FR). The programmes 
of measures in the RBMPs will provide information on how this will be implemented in the Member States.  
2. Allocating water and water-rela ted funding more efficiently 
2.1. Improving land-use planning 
The Commission is well aware of the complex links between the competitiveness of the 
tourism industry and environmental issues. The Commission-sponsored Tourism 
Sustainability Group (TSG) issued a report on 'Action for more sustainable European 
Tourism' (2007), which inspired the Commissi on Communication “Agenda  for a sustainable 
and competitive European tourism” (COM(2007) 621 final). Minimising resource use and pollution at tourism destinations is one of the ke y challenges identified also with regard to the 
reduction of the ecological foot print and stress on water. 
Actions should involve strength ening of environmental manageme nt in tourism enterprises, 
(for instance through the diffu sion of eco-management schemes and eco-labels, like the EU 
flower for tourist accommodation services and camp sites) raising the awareness of visitors in an effort to change their consumption habits and providing the necessary infrastructure and 
management systems at local destination leve l. The Commission give s financial support to 
tourism associations or networks (via calls fo r proposals) for addressing these issues and is 
                                                
 
1 These embody an increase in the volumetric or per unit charge once a predetermined threshold of 
consumption is exceeded. 
 
EN 8   EN currently exploring the possibilities for drawing up a list of  core indicators for sustainable 
tourism development that will include measur es on water management and sewage treatment. 
Moreover, the fourth edition of the European Destinations of Excellence-Award (EDEN2 
edition 2009/2010) focuses this time on 'Aquatic t ourism', which will be further addressed in 
the EDEN Network. The EDEN Network is a platform for exchanging good practices at 
European and national level.  
Regarding the water efficiency measures in urban areas  there are some initiatives at local 
level to promote a new culture of water manage ment, to be incorporated in municipalities´ 
development plans. NGOs are seeking to create a Eu ropean Partnership of hi storical cities that 
will initiate the dialogue on solutions to re tain rainwater in the urban environment. 
The proposal for a Soil Framework Directive3 is being discussed by the Council and the 
European Parliament. Its objective is to maintain the functions of soil and in particular its water retention capacity, by halting soil degrada tion and reducing soil sealing. This will help 
overcome the impacts of floods and dr oughts and replenish groundwater tables. 
The Common Agricultural Policy  (CAP) Health Check agreed  in 2008 has resulted in 
changes to the standards for Good Agricultur al and Environmental Condition (GAEC). In 
particular, in line with the commitment made in the Commission Communication on 
Preparing for the 'Health Check' of the CAP reform
4 to respond to new challenges, better 
water management objectives have been included with regard to cross compliance with a new GAEC issue relating to protection and management  of water. From 2010 Member States will 
have to define a standard that will apply at farm level regard ing compliance with authorisation 
procedures for using water for irrigation when such use is subject to authorisation. Other 
obligations relating cross-co mpliance should help raise farmers' awareness of these 
authorisation procedures, in pa rticular through the pr ovision of better info rmation to farmers 
and the possibility of having CAP payments  reduced in case of infringement. The 
Commission will carefully monitor application of the cross compliance rules resulting from the Health Check during the implementation phase. 
The CAP Health Check has also allowed better ta rgeting of the Farm Advisory System (FAS). 
This system requires the national authorities to offer advice to farmers, at least on the rules 
included in cross-compliance. With the inclus ion of water issues in the scope of cross-
compliance, the FAS will consequently incorpor ate water issues from 2010. Member States 
may also use the FAS for advising farmers on standards extending beyond cross-compliance, 
e.g. water commitments under agri-environmental measures. 
In December 2008 the European Parliament and the Council reached agreement on the 
'Climate action and renewable energy package' that contains ambitious commitments to fight 
climate change and promote renewable en ergy up to 2020 and beyond. The Directive on 
promotion of the use of energy from re newable sources (Renewables Directive
5), which is 
part of the package, sets mandatory national ta rgets for the share of renewable energy in final 
consumption and target of 10% renewable en ergy in transport by 2020. The Directive also 
sets out sustainability criteria that biofuels  and bioliquids will have to meet to be eligible to 
count towards the Directive's targets, for na tional renewable energy obligations and for 
                                                 
2 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/eden/index_en.htm. 
3 COM(2006) 232, 22.9.2006. 
4 COM(2007) 722,20.11.2007. 
5 Directive 2009/28/EC of 23. April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. 
 
EN 9   EN national financial support. Water protection is no t part of the mandatory sustainable criteria, 
but producers do have to ensure that the raw mate rial used for biofuels is in compliance with 
CAP's environmental cross-compliance rules, wh ich includes provisions related to water 
protection (. The Directive also sets out reporting requirements on measures taken (if any) for 
e.g.water protection andrequires private operators to  provide information on measures taken 
in areas where water is scar ce. A Communication on the practi cal implementation of the EU 
biofuels/bioliquids sustainability  scheme is under preparation.  
A significant increase in biomass production in th e EU will not require total irrigation water 
consumption to be increased in most areas. Growing biomass that needs less water than the present food crops could decrease the pressure on water resources. However increased biomass production in water-scarce areas could put additional pressure on an already stressed 
resource, if production requires further irrigatio n. In Southern Europe (FR, EL, IT, PT and 
ES) increased biomass cropping could be responsi ble for extra water abstraction problems in 
regions where water is scarce.
6  
Environmental impacts of large- scale biomass projects are taken into account in legal acts in 
several Member States (AT, DE, LT, FI).  In one Member Stat e (FI) the bio-energy 
contribution to the total energy use is 20%. Several countries re ported that some bio-energy 
crops are fully or almost fully rainfed (DE, FR, UK) or that water demand for biomass is 
already dealt with in some draft RBMPs (FR, ES, FI).  
A recent study7 has assessed the water re quirements of thirteen bi oenergy crops across the 
world and shows that the water consumption (wat er footprint) varies with climate, location 
and crop as well as with agricultural practice. Th e findings could help to select the best crops 
and locations to produce bioenergy.  
A study carried out for the Commission8 on the impact of bioenergy development on water 
availability shows that to avoid increased pr essure on European water resources, European 
feedstock for bioenergy should be more concentr ated in northern and central parts of Europe 
than in the south. The strict implementation of the Water Fram ework Directive in southern 
Europe will have consequences for the capac ity of these countries to increase national 
production of biomass with irrigate d crops in particular as the cu rrent water abstraction has to 
be decreased to reach 'good status'. In order to  reduce the pressure in these areas alternative 
water supply options, such as wastewater reuse, could also be considered as potential 
solutions for irrigation needs for bioenergy crop s. Human health considerations, which often 
block the use of wastewater in the food producti on sector, are not as re levant for bioenergy 
production. However, the study st ates that in general effici ent production techniques and 
development of drought-resistant crops are more critical for increased biomass production in 
Europe than access to irrigation water. The study shows that with no strict limits on water use, 
bioenergy could account for 2.6% of agricultural water abstract ions and 1.4% of total water 
abstractions in southern Eu rope. This value could be re duced to 0.1% of total water 
withdrawals if stricter water abst raction measures are applied.  
                                                 
6 Dworak, T. et al. (2009) Assessment of inter-linkages between bioenergy development and water 
availability. 
7 Gerbens-Leenes, W., Hoekstra, A.Y. & van der Meer, T.H. (2009). The water footprint of bioenergy. 
8 Dworak, T. et al. (2009) Assessment of inter-linkages between bioenergy development and water 
availability. 
 
EN 10   EN Adequate prevention of negative environmental impacts through instruments such as the 
Environmental Impact Assessment9 (EIA) and the Strategic Environmental Assessment10 
(SEA) Directives must be fully implemented in or der, inter alia, to pres erve water resources, 
as a guarantee for sustainability. With the obje ctive of reinforcing resilience before future 
water scarcity events, all economic sectors are to be cons idered before significant decisions 
are made. Most Member States reported th at they fully implement the EIA and SEA 
Directives. 
2.2. Financing water efficiency 
The agreement reached in the framework of the CAP Health Check has resulted in increasing 
financial transfers from the first pillar to ru ral development polic y through compulsory 
modulation. Additional financial resources of €3.3 billion allows Member States to reinforce 
their efforts under their rural development progr ammes to meet the new challenges faced by 
European agriculture including the need for better water management. In addition, the 
European Economic Recovery Package makes available €1.020 billion earmarked for the improvement of broadband infrastructure in  rural areas and for addressing the 'new 
challenges' as identified in the Health Check. With regard to water, an indicative list of 
operations has been identified for Member Stat es to propose in their Rural Development 
Programmes (RDPs) with a view to improving water-use efficiency and preserving water 
quality. The study undertaken for the Commis sion (March 2009) on the place of the WFD 
issues in rural development programmes emphasise d that Member States have the flexibility 
to select the most appropriate measures to ad dress the specific needs of their territory and 
decide (up to a certain amount) how to spe nd their budgets. This leads to important 
differences in Member States' Rural Developmen t Programmes and especially in the priority 
they give to environmental and particularly wa ter-related issues. The st udy concluded that the 
actions taken under the RDPs will not be suffici ent in many cases to solve water problems, 
which is not in any case the aim of the Rura l Development Regulation (RDR), and additional 
efforts in the agricultural se ctor will be needed. There is no doubt that Rural Development 
Programmes are an important tool that can ha ve a significant impact on achieving the WFD 
objectives. However, particular attention is needed in order to tackle concerns regarding 
possible negative impacts on water management due  to new farm investments (Art 28 and Art 
30 RDR), in particular those ai ming at increasing ir rigation areas and ne w large-scale water 
storage. The funding of the measures fo stering better water management, like the 
improvement of existing supply systems, water-s aving technologies and equipments, leakage 
reduction, reuse of waste water, soil protection, environmental and water resources protection 
and monitoring and research to improve knowledge are increasingly taken into account in EU and national budgets. The effects of recent se vere events (like the 2005 drought in PT) 
mobilised private funds from agricultural and in dustrial sectors to lower water consumptions.  
Rural Development Programmes (CZ(2008), IT (2007-13), ES) include subsidies for the 
modernisation of irrigation systems using such  methods as sprinkling, dripping, micro-and 
sub-irrigation as major influences in water savi ng. In other Member St ates funds are mainly 
used to foster the improvement of water infr astructures (IT, ES, PT) or the reduction of 
irrigation at farm level (FR). 
                                                
 
9 Council Directive 85/337/EEC of 27 June 1985 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and 
private projects on the environment, OJ L 175 5.7.1985, p.40. 
10 Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the 
assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment, OJ L 197, 21.7.2001, 
p.30. 
 
EN 11   EN Also, it would be desirable that water supply utilities receive aid only if networks' yields 
reach certain thresholds (FR, fr om 2009, 75% in rural areas or 85% in urban areas) or if they 
improve security by means of connections betwee n water utilities (FI). In some other Member 
States, regional aids are applied in order to  replace less energy- and water-efficient devices 
(ES) or there are 'rebate' schemes for wate r efficient household appliances (MT, UK).  
At regional level, a wide range of measur es are supported (IT, ES) pursuing more water 
saving and reuse, promoting technologically advanced systems for monitoring, managing 
information and supporting decision systems for the management of water bodies.  
In order to enhance users' interests in water efficiency, tax policies  must also be developed. 
Only a few Member States reported having impl emented such policies. Rainwater harvesting 
is already considered for tax credits or tax enha nced allowances in some Member States (FR, 
UK, BE) while municipal budgets are being repl aced by fiscal initia tives to decrease 
operational costs of water utilities (FI). Fiscal  measures should serve to better mobilise small 
scale private investments in water efficiency an d more efforts must be focussed on this across 
Europe. 
The 2007-2013 Cohesion Policy provides for significant investments in infrastructure related 
to water management (storage, distributio n and treatment), clean and water-efficient 
technologies as well as risk prevention m easures. In the 2007-2013 programming period € 22 
billion will be directly allocated to water management measures, including € 8 billion for 
management and distribution of water.  
The Community Strategic Guidelines on Cohe sion covering the period 2007-2013 will not be 
reviewed but supplemented by a Communi cation. The Communication will stress the 
potential and means for improved sustainable development, including in terms of ecosystem 
services like water supply, at regional level with the current Cohesion Policy programmes 
2007-2013.  
In March 2009 the Commission published the working document 'Regions 2020 – Climate 
change challenges for European Regions' concl uding that sectoral challenges will occur 
mainly in agriculture, fisheries, forestr y, and the energy and tourism industries, and 
significant investment will be required to face  drought, heat waves, forest fires, coastal 
erosion and flooding. In particular, urban life w ill have to adapt to more extreme weather 
conditions, which is likely to put strain on exis ting infrastructure in areas such as water 
supply, drainage, health, energy and public transport. Exposure and sensitivity of regions to climate change already display significant differen ces, with regions affected in a different way 
depending, among other issues, on their location in  the European climate zones. Regions also 
differ in adaptive capacity so the impact on  regional growth potential, environmental 
sustainability as well as equity will vary. Regions with a high dependency on vulnerable 
sectors will have to face soci al costs of structural change or adaptation. The Mediterranean 
regions will suffer the most fr om worsening conditions. In this framework, following the 
severe drought of 2008 the Cohesion Policy fundi ng has already been used to co-finance 
desalinisation plants (ES, EL) that were needed to ensure a stable drinking water supply for a 
metropolitan area or islands. 
Sustainable and efficient use of water resour ces and strategies for mitigation of climate 
change effects are included as priorities in a number of 2007-2013 Operational Programmes 
(CZ, IT, PT). The European Regional Developm ent Fund is also suppor ting actions related to 
rain-water harvesting investment by farmer s in certain member states (MT, CY). 
 
EN 12   EN 3. Improving drought risk management 
3.1. Developing drought risk management plans 
Moving from 'crisis response' to 'risk management ' in the context of water management is the 
way to improve society's resilience to water scar city and droughts. It is  clear that there are 
significant variations in the way that Member St ates across the EU consider and tackle these 
issues depending on their recent history and su ffering with regard to water stress. Taking 
advantage of recent experiences in tackling dr ought problems can ensure the widespread of 
the development of specific dr ought plans across Eur ope as supplements to the River Basin 
Management Plans. Some Member States have already identified areas or entire basins 
affected by drought, suffering permanent or semi  permanent water scarcity, soil degradation 
and desertification processes was already reporte d by some Member States (see details in the 
main text of the report). Severa l Member States (BE, ES) have defined their sp ecific indicator 
systems and progressive measures at ri ver basin level under their already ongoing  drought 
plans. The drought management plans alread y developed (BE, CY, ES, FR, UK) were 
reported to include maps of wa ter stress, the identification of  warning or alert systems and 
sector-specific measures, such as temporary re strictions on irrigating water-intensive crops. 
However, many Member States (AT, DE, FI, LT,  PT) are considering droughts as a matter to 
be addressed in the context of the ongoing rive r basin management plans, or as specific 
chapters of RBMPs which are to be adopted (IT). 
In order to restore the sustai nability of the water cycle, wa ter efficiency improvement and 
demand management practices were included in  the Drought Management Plans (DMPs) of 
some southern European Member States (PT,  ES, IT, FR). Consumption was rationalised by 
revising existing abstraction permits and limiting or refusing to grant new permits (IT, FR), or through restrictions on water uses (IT, PT, ES,  CY). Other Member States reported that such 
initiatives required the involvement of tran sboundary actions (BE, FR). During severe 
droughts water markets (e.g. to exchange water ri ghts) helped to temporarily allocate water 
resources more efficiently (ES, FR).  
The measures taken during drought periods we re often accompanied by public awareness 
campaigns (FR, ES, CY) to explain the link between water consumption and environmental 
protection to the public and to make unpopular decisions such as re strictions or tariff 
increases more acceptable (FR). 
The Commission intends to foster exchanges of information and best practices on drought risk 
management and to propose methodologies fo r drought thresholds assessment and drought 
mapping by means of general recommendations th at started with the 'Drought Management 
plan report'.  
3.2. Developing an observatory and an  early warning system on droughts 
The prototype of the European Drought Ob servatory (EDO) for drought forecasting, 
detection, and monitoring in Europe is curren tly engaged in pre-operational production of 
drought indices using meteorological informa tion, modelled hydrological parameters, and 
remote sensing data. Relevant indices (in part icular, the Standardised  Precipitation Index - 
SPI) show the general precipitation status for pr edefined periods. Soil moisture estimations 
are produced, along with their anomalies and seven-day forecasts. 
 
EN 13   EN All these drought indicators are made available online for visua lisation and search by means 
of a map viewer. The tool generates maps of the different indicators and provides 
functionalities to browse the maps, search th e data, produce graphs, and output the maps in 
various formats. 
Several activities are currently ongoing in Eu rope to monitor and manage drought, water 
scarcity and desertification risks (see main text  of the report for details). The measures taken 
during drought periods were often accompanie d by public awareness campaigns (FR, ES, CY) 
to explain the link between wate r consumption and environmental protection to the public and 
to make unpopular decisions such as restric tions or tariff increases more acceptable (FR). 
The European Environmental Agency (EEA) has kept up its effo rts to produce better 
information and indicators on water scarcity and drought and progress has been made in 
establishing a European Water Scarcity a nd Drought Information system (WSDIS).  
As a first step towards th e development of a coherent  water scarcity, drought and 
desertification information system for Europe the EEA continued its in ventory of activities 
and information sources and a gap analysis ha s been undertaken at national and European 
level in order to identify the different links and overlaps in terms of  objectives, priorities, 
methodological approaches, risk assessment and management.  
The EEA also manages the regula r water reporting, in cluding reporting on water quantity as 
specified in the new reporting sheet (the ba sis of which is the updated WISE-SoE water 
quantity reporting sheet) accepted in February 2009. 
3.3. Further optimising the use of the EU Solidarity Fund and European Mechanism for 
Civil Protection 
Mobilising the EU Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for drought is di fficult due to the ten week 
timelimit for presenting applications to the Commission following the first damage caused. Prior to filing an application for EUSF funds for drought damages, the applicant has to 
present all preventive measures taken to minimi se the damages to justify the request, because 
unconditional post-disaster assi stance could discourage countr ies from taking cost-effective 
risk-reduction measures and putting ex an te financial instruments in place.  
The European Community Civi l Protection Mechanism provide s a framework for effective 
and rapid cooperation between Member States when  mutual assistance is needed to respond to 
major emergencies (including dr oughts) that overwhelm the na tional response capacities.  
The Commission Communication a dopted in March 2008 on reinforcing the EU's Disaster 
Response capacity
11 advocated reinforcing the Commun ity Civil Protection Mechanism by 
taking an integrated approach encompassing all stages and all types of disasters, including 
extreme droughts. The Communica tion 'A Community approach on the prevention of natural 
and man-made disasters'12 adopted in February 2009 is con cerned with options for an EU 
approach to preventing disasters, and taking an  integrated multi-hazard  approach. As well as 
addressing improvements to disast er prevention policies, it also includes improvements to the 
effectiveness of the existing fi nancing and legislativ e instruments. The Council adopted on 30 
November 2009 Council Conclusions on a Commun ity framework on disaster prevention 
                                                 
11 COM(2008) 130 final, 5.3.2008 
12 COM(2009)82 final/2,4.3.2009. 
 
EN 14   EN within the EU. The conclusions mandate the Co mmission to take forward a wide range of 
activities including the developm ent of guidelines on risk assessment and mapping for hazard-
specific disaster prevention, and th e preparation of a sectoral ove rview of the majors risks the 
Community may face, as well as the enhanc ement of Community disaster management 
training. 
4. Considering additional water supply infrastructures 
Several Member States reported that they  had to develop alternative water supply 
infrastructures in order to tackle the water s carcity and drought problems in the river basins. 
Measures taken include the improvement or ex tension of existing desalination plants (ES, 
CY) and installation of mobile plants or transfers of pot able water (CY).  
Considering the energy-intensive nature of some options, these need to be weighed-up 
carefully. There remain in particular envir onmental and economic concerns about the high 
energy use of the desalination process. As rega rds the environment, if the energy required to 
increase water supply is produced by burning fo ssil fuels, these options will contribute to 
global warming. For this reason mitigation measures are needed to either improve efficiency or incorporate the use of renewable energy sources. 
In order to reduce the pressure  in water-scarce river basins alternative water supply options, 
such as wastewater reuse, could also be considered . Reuse of treated wast ewater received a 
strong boost (IT, ES) during periods of water stre sses and scarcity. Although the properties of 
treated wastewater do not always make it fit for drinking water supp ly, its capability to 
replace other sources led it to be allocated to ag riculture irrigation, urban and industrial 
applications and environmental enhancement,  for example to ensure minimum ecological 
flows (ES). 
There is no European directive or guideline spec ifying the standards for treated wastewater in 
irrigation that would help to promote the reuse of  treated wastewater. In this respect, in 2007 a 
Working Group of experts from EU and Med iterranean countries, stakeholders and non-
governmental organisations issued a report  entitled 'Mediterranean  Wastewater Reuse 
Report'
13 presenting non-mandatory recommendati ons. In the context of growing water 
scarcity there is a need to make wastewater reuse more acceptable and widespread. To that 
end further investigations as well as coordination and informa tion exchange between the EU 
Member States is clearly needed specificall y concerning the intr oduction of standards 
applicable across the EU for treated waste water for irrigation  (e.g. of energy crops ).. 
Any proposal for new water infrastructures, no t only storage or wate r transfer, but also 
resources as yet considered un -conventional must undergo an e nvironmental, health, social 
and economic impact assessment. Almost all re porting Member States c onfirmed that before 
new alternative water supply infr astructures are established th ey undergo the full process of 
environmental impact assessment. 
5. Fostering water efficient technologies and practices 
In July 2009 an assessment was finalised fo r the Commission of how improvements to the 
efficiency of water-using devices and the wate r performance of buildin gs could contribute to 
overall water savings, together wi th details of the measures that  could be applied at EU level 
                                                 
13 http://ec.europa.eu/enviro nment/water/water-urbanwa ste/info/water_reuse.htm  
 
EN 15   EN and how they could be implemented. The quantitat ive analysis shows that the introduction of 
mandatory requirements through extens ion of the Ecodesign Directive14 to cover water-using 
devices could induce significant savings if all water-using  products are included - a 19.6% 
reduction in EU total public supply. This would correspond to a 3.2% reduction in annual total EU abstraction . However, if only energy-relate d products are included (without 
considering dishwashers and washing machines), the reduction is much lower, at around 6%.  
Furthermore, reducing the water consumption of energy-related pro ducts such as taps, 
showers and baths (as adopted in  the extended Eco-design Direct ive), can also result in an 
indirect reduction of energy cons umption: a potential reduction of 20% of the heating needsof 
these products. This would lead to a reduction in energy use of 18.4TWh/year. This represents 
savings amounting to 0.50% of total EU pr imary energy supply. Reducing energy use would 
in turn result in yearly CO
2 savings of approximately 2.89 MtCO 2eq if standard energy-related 
water-using devices are replaced (excludi ng dishwashers and washing machines). 
With regard to buildings it was concluded th at small behavioural changes could provide 
significant savings. Small changes in showering time, bathing frequency or use of taps can 
result in savings of 20 to 30% . However, consideration of us ers’ behaviour with new water-
efficient products is needed to ensure that po tential consumption reducti ons of some efficient 
fixtures are not neutralised by changes in the way they are used. The study concludes that the 
best result in terms of water savings woul d be achieved by buildings  and products if a 
combination of several instruments is used. Several initiatives to develop standards and 
legislation for water-using devices have been  taken up in different  Member States. For 
example, general criteria for tap and toilet wa ter-saving devices are be ing developed (CY) and 
a revision of the standards for spigots to reduce the outflow are being revised (FR).  
A few Member States reported that they are at  an advanced stage in the development of 
regulations or recommendations on water performance criteria of buildings (FR, ES, CZ, FI). 
Others have established a technical code for buildings referring to sustainable water use, 
water-saving measures and water flow control, as  well as energy efficiency measures (ES), or 
have introduced new standards regarding ra inwater harvesting and use (MT, FR). 
Only one Member State reported that it is planning to update the water supply and sewerage 
system (CZ). Other Member States are con tinuing to carry out a programme to improve 
and/or replace old domestic water supply networ ks in rural areas (CY, ES). Some Member 
States are undertaking conti nuous leakage-reduction programmes (MT, CZ, BE). Others are 
trying to reduce leakage by voluntary measures (FI). Some Member States offer financial 
support for communities if they invest in mode rnising the drinking water supply system and 
an online information system on the efficiency  of each community participating in the 
modernisation (FR). 
The chemicals and the petroleum refining industry  are responsible for approximately half of 
all water use by manufacturing in dustry, while the basic metals, paper and food processing 
industries account for most of the remainder. The wa ter use of manufactur ing industry can be 
reduced by recycling and reusing water, changi ng production processes, using more efficient 
technology, reducing leakage and developing on-site treatment. (The highest annual amount 
of water abstracted for manufactur ing industry is in DE and FR).  
                                                 
14 Directive 2005/32/EC, OJ L 191, 22.7.2005, p.29. 
 
EN 16   EN To reach voluntary agreements with the economic sectors that need water would be a 
significant step ahead in ensuring efficient wa ter use in all Member States. Some Member 
States continued to develop agr eements with specific economic sectors, such as horse riding 
courses, the car washing industry (FR), the cat tle industry (PT), manufacturers of water using-
appliances (FI). 
In May 2009, the Commission adopted a Comm unication on agricultura l product quality 
policy15, laying down strategic orientations to im prove EU policy on agricultural certification 
and labelling schemes.  The Commission intends to draw up guidelines to encourage the 
inclusion of sustainability cr iteria in product specif ications for geographi cal indications, and 
to maintain the credibility of environmental and other aims in certification schemes generally. In the case of the organic farming standard, fa rmers are already required to 'make responsible 
use of … natural resources, such as water'
16. 
6. Fostering the emergence of a water-saving culture in Europe  
The extended Framework Directive on ecodesign17 covering not just en ergy-using items, but 
also energy-related products (ERPs) includes energy-using products, plus other products that 
do not consume energy, but which impact on energy consumption. Among these are water-
using devices such as water-efficient shower h eads or taps that do not consume energy but can 
contribute to saving ener gy required for heating.  
In parallel, work on implementing the current Ec odesign Directive is in progress with the aim 
of adopting within a short peri od of time implementing measur es for given priority product 
groups, including washing machines and dishwashers.  
Bearing in mind that civil society plays a crucia l role when it comes to the development of a 
water-saving and efficiency culture in Europe, Member States actively continued to organise 
information campaigns at national,  regional or local level. The Aquawareness - the European 
Water Awareness and Water Stew ardship Programme launched in June 2008 by the European 
Water Partnership (EWP), involves stakeholders  from various sectors in developing joint 
solutions for more sustainable water manageme nt. Regional workshops exploring the local 
and national priorities and challenges which Eur ope’s water is facing were organised. As well 
as awareness campaigns, policy recommendations are being suggested to policy makers, and 
the water stewardship programme was launched w ith the representation of the four sectors 
considered as being the most significant water users (agricultu re, industry, tourism and urban 
areas). 
Member States actively continue d to organise information camp aigns at national, regional or 
local level such as Water Week, free-of-cha nge distribution of water-saving devices or 
television and radio advertisements focused on water saving (CY, MT, BE, FI, ES, PT, PL). 
Websites and public information systems (CZ, PT, AT), the publication of reports on the state 
of the water (CZ), inclusion of water manageme nt issues and good practices in irrigation in 
educational programmes (FR, PT), development of actions at schools to promote water-saving 
devices (FR, BE, PT) and the development of national strategies to educate consumers on 
efficient water uses (BE, ES) are only some ex amples of the activities carried out. These 
                                                 
15 COM(2009) 234 final, 28.5.2009 
16 Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, OJ L 189, 20.7.2007, p. 1. 
17 2009/125/EC 
 
EN 17   EN measures need to be continued throughout Eur ope, and in order to ga in feedback on their 
efficiency they should also be evaluated.  
The companies which are members of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Europe, 
explored the possibility of launching a new initia tive on water scarcity in the framework of 
the European Alliance on CSR, but decided not to  start such an initiative as they considered 
that there might be a risk of duplication with other activities. 
7. Improve knowledge and data collection 
7.1. Water scarcity and drought information system throughout Europe 
Consolidated datasheets are needed to prov ide the most useful drought monitoring and 
forecasting systems, including drought indicators  that can be used for feeding models and 
processes. This would help bett er identify spatial and temporal patterns and trends, and large-
scale drivers, predictflow characteristics at  ungauged streams and provide drought monitoring 
and forecasting. 
Waterbase (managed by the EEA) is a series of covering databases on the status and quality of 
Europe's water and the quantity of Europe’s wa ter resources. It contains timely, reliable and 
policy-relevant data, collected through the WI SE-SoE data collection process (formerly 
known as Eionet-Water). Its added value is that data collected through WISE-SoE are 
comparable at European level18.  
GMES19 (Global Monitoring for environment a nd Security) is an Earth observation 
programme led by the European Union, building on full decade of resear ch activities. GMES 
is a system delivering information on the Earth's environment, based on a space infrastructure and 'in situ' observation infrastructure and el aborated through a service component. Several 
GMES services would be useful for the mon itoring of droughts, in particular the Land 
Monitoring service, Emergency Response service and climate Ch ange service. A series of 
pre-operational services are be ing financed under the Space Theme of the Seventh Framework 
Programme for Research (FP7), such as the project SAFER
20 which provides the pre-
operational emergency service of GMES, not on ly during the response phase but also during 
the early warning and reconstruction phases. The project GEOLAND221, is preparing GMES 
Land services in order to deliv er on an operational and sust ainable basis information on land 
cover and land cover changes, as well as terre strial Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) 
including vegetation parameters and water parameters on a systematic basis. In July 2009, the European Commission called for new proposals fo r extending services to new areas, such as 
water management, biodiversity monitoring,  forest monitoring and agri-environment 
observation. Consequently, wate r policies, land use and irri gation practices are strongly 
supported by GMES services. A regulation for the GMES programme proposed by the 
European Commission is now under legislative pr ocedure and is expected  to be adopted by 
the end of 2010, including financing of GMES Initial Operations for the period 2011-13.  
                                                
 
18 http://dataservice.eea.europa.eu/ 
19 Global Monitoring for the Environment and Security. http://www.gmes.info/. 
20 SAFER started on 1st January 2009 and will last for 36 months, with an estimated total cost of € 39.3 
million. 
21 GEOLAND2 started in September 2008 and will last 36 months with an estimated total cost of €32.5 
million 
 
EN 18   EN Finally, reliable data on drought is bei ng collected in the framework of INTERREG 
programmes through a number of projects co-financed by the European Regional 
Development Fund (ERDF) for several progra mming periods. Some Member States are 
following this kind of drought monitoring (ES,  IT). The 'Guidelines to drought phenomena 
evaluation' have been elaborated by the JRC for an integrated system for monitoring and forecasting drought events and planning mitig ation measures. The JRC analyses updated 
climatic conditions in different Italian regions, the rest of Europe, th e Western Balkans, and 
the Mediterranean Basin. 
7.2. Research and technological development opportunities  
Besides research on management options ad dressed by AQUASTRESS, specific research 
needs on droughts are being discussed in the XEROCHORE Support Action which is 
currently establishing the state of the art of drought-related na tional and regional policies and 
plans and will lay down a roadmap that will identif y research gaps and steps to be taken in 
order to fill them. In particular, support for European Drought Policy will be provided through 
expert recommendations on impact assessment,  policy-making, drought in the context of 
integrated water resources management and guidance on appropriate responses for 
stakeholders. The large consorti um (over 80 organisations) is cl osely linked to the European 
Drought Centre and the Water Framework Directive Common Implementation Strategy 
Working Group on Water Scarcity and Droughts, which has led to the development of an 
internationally recognised exchange platform  on drought issues betw een the research and 
policy communities. This is strengthened by links  established with relevant research (RTD) 
projects that include drought components, e .g. WATCH, CIRCE, as well as the recently 
launched MIRAGE project on Intermittent River Management. It is expected that the exchange platform, now established and deve loped within the XEROCHORE project, will be 
further strengthened by the Commission through the clustering of proj ects dealing with 
climate change and water security (inc luding drought aspect s) from 2010 onward. 
Like the ROST project, which worked on the improvement of plant drought, salt and cold 
stress tolerance, CEDROME aims to develop drought-resistant cereals to  support the efficient 
use of water supplies in the Mediterranean area.  
The European Territorial Cooperation progr ammes (previously INTERREG programmes) 
within the Cohesion Policy are also largely contributing to research and technological 
development opportunities. For example, in the previous programming period, ERDF co-
financed PRODIM (Proactive Management of Water Systems to face Drought and Water Scarcity in Islands and Coastal Areas of the Mediterranean) a joint project between CY, EL, 
IT and MT in the framework of INTERRE G IIIB ARCHIMED programme. This project 
aimed at developing a methodol ogical framework on water shor tage based on proactive 
planning. Case studies from EL, IT, CY and MT served for the prepara tion of both strategic 
water shortage preparedness and emergency plans. Other examples under the European 
Territorial Cooperation can be  found in the framework of the transnational cooperation 
programme "Alpine Space 2007-2013" - Water Management Strategies against Water Scarcity in the Alps or INTERREG IV B No rth West Europe: AMICE (Adaptation to the 
expected spatial impacts of climate change), and also under the interregional cooperation 
programme INTERREG IV-C: REGIOCLI MA (which aims at enhancing  cooperation among 
selected EU regions towards avoiding risk and reaping the benefits fr om a changing climate). 
Many other projects co-financed under the ERDF , are being developed in the framework of 
2007-2013 European Territorial Cooperation programme s. The list of projects directly or 
indirectly linked to drought-re lated research under the 6
th and 7th Research Framework 
 
EN 19   EN Programmes mentioned above is not exhaustive22. Research on drought w ill also be addressed 
in the current call for proposals (published in July 2009) under the heading 'Early warning 
systems to predict climate change related dr ought risks in Europe and Africa'. The ERA-Net 
IWRM-Net23 second joint call for research proposals24 also tries to enable partners to work on 
synergies between research needs and policy, and promotes interdisciplinary activities 
concerning IWRM across Europe to meet the various challenges linke d to climate change, 
droughts and water scarcity.  
Several drought-related research programmes are being carried out at na tional level, mainly 
focused on issues such as climate change, its im pacts, proposed adaptati on measures, its effect 
on expected water availability (CZ, ES, FR, PL) or on biological flows versus resource 
availability and new opportunities for the food-processing industry (FR). 
Taking into account that groundwat er resources play a major role during drought events, 
Member States are further rese arching aquifer modelling (BE) ar tificial recharge (FR) and 
groundwater monitoring networks (AT).  
Considering that the biggest fresh water consumer in the EU is agriculture, adequate research 
efforts should be devoted at both national and international level to improve the sector's water 
efficiency, with special attention to irrigate d farming in the most drought-sensitive regions. 
The EU's 7th Framework Programme for Res earch and Technological Development is 
offering research opportunities to address water s carcity and water-use efficiency at European 
level.  
                                                 
22 A compilation of RTD projects from the 6th and 7th Framework Programmes directly or indirectly 
linked to drought-related research is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/pdf/cop-
15.pdf. 
23 IWRM-Net (towards a European-wide exchange Networ k for integrating research efforts on Integrated 
Water Resources Management) is a network composed  of national and regional research programmes 
managers and funders. 
24 http://www.iwrm-net.eu/spip.php?rubrique43.