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Tengrinews.kz – The European Union must urgently address water shortages and find new ways to fund repairs for pipeline leaks, according to Deutsche Welle.
Tengrinews.kz – The European Union must urgently address water shortages and find new ways to fund repairs for pipeline leaks, according to Deutsche Welle.
As reported, European Commissioner for Environment Jessika Roswall stated this in an interview with the Financial Times.
According to Roswall, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU focused on ensuring energy security at the expense of efforts to tackle the water crisis.
"We talk too little about water but focus on energy efficiency and energy... Of course, that is very important, but water is also crucial, and Europe is facing shortages. Businesses are realizing this now because Europe has experienced droughts, and we see nuclear power plants shutting down and transport halted on major rivers," she noted, emphasizing the need for an urgent response to the situation.
A fifth of the EU's territory and nearly a third of its population suffer annually from water shortages, according to an October study by the European Environment Agency. The World Meteorological Organization has also reported a sharp increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts within the EU. Between 1976 and 2006, the area affected and the number of those impacted by these changes increased by almost 20%.
Farmers are experiencing a significant drop in crop yields. This trend also affects industries, from textiles to hydrogen production, where water is essential for electrolysis.
Despite the growing strain on agriculture and industry, the EU does not sufficiently monitor the condition of its pipelines, Roswall noted. According to the European Commission, nearly a quarter of the water supplied through pipelines is lost during distribution.
The commissioner emphasized the need to "find new innovative financing methods" for pipeline repairs and the construction of new water treatment facilities.
On October 15, the European Environment Agency reported that in 2021, only slightly more than a third of European lakes and rivers were in good or very good ecological condition.
The report explained that European waters are primarily impacted by chemical substances from coal energy production and agriculture. When coal is burned, mercury is first released into the air and then returns to the earth’s surface with precipitation. In agriculture, fertilizers and pesticides enter the water.
As a reminder, on New Year's Eve, some areas of Germany's capital, Berlin, experienced water outages. The city’s water supply service explained that the disruptions occurred due to a pipeline break on one of the streets. According to local media, the pipeline was installed in the 1920s.
