The State of Water in Europe

A Wateracy research perspective on water scarcity, drought and European water literacy

Water is one of the foundations of European societies, supporting households, agriculture, industry, energy production and ecosystems. Yet the availability and condition of freshwater resources can no longer be taken for granted.

Europe is facing a complex water challenge: increasing water stress, recurring droughts, pollution, ecosystem degradation and growing pressure from agriculture, industry and other human activities. Climate change is amplifying many of these pressures, making both water scarcity and extreme rainfall more difficult to manage.

The evidence is clear. Water stress already affects 20% of Europe’s territory and 30% of its population every year. In 2021, only 37% of Europe’s surface water bodies achieved good or high ecological status, while only 29% achieved good chemical status. At the same time, groundwater — which provides around two thirds of the EU’s drinking water — faces persistent pressure from pollutants such as nitrates and pesticides.

These numbers describe a European water system under significant pressure. But they also raise another question: how well do European citizens understand these pressures and their own relationship with water?

This is the question at the centre of the Wateracy project and its research roadmap.

1. Europe’s water situation in numbers

The European Environment Agency’s Europe’s state of water 2024 provides one of the most comprehensive assessments of the continent’s freshwater resources.

Its findings identify three major challenges for European water management:

Protecting and restoring aquatic ecosystems
Achieving the zero-pollution ambition
Adapting to water scarcity, drought and flood risks

The scale of the challenge becomes clearer through the data.

20% of Europe’s territory experiences water stress every year

Water stress is no longer a problem limited to a few southern European regions. According to the EEA, 20% of Europe’s territory and 30% of its population are affected by water stress each year. Climate change is expected to increase these pressures in the future.

Water stress occurs when the demand for water places significant pressure on available resources. The European Commission explains that water scarcity can result when demand exceeds supply, including because of excessive abstraction, land development, pollution, insufficient wastewater reuse and drought.

This distinction is important: water scarcity is not simply a problem of insufficient rainfall.

It is also a problem of how societies use, manage and protect water.

Only 37% of surface waters have good or high ecological status

The Water Framework Directive established the objective of achieving good status for European water bodies by 2015. This target was not achieved, and progress has remained limited.

In 2021:

37% of Europe’s surface water bodies had good or high ecological status.
29% had good chemical status.
The majority of protected aquatic habitats and species were assessed as having poor or bad conservation status.

The figures reveal that water availability is only one part of the problem. The quality and ecological health of Europe’s water systems are equally important.

Persistent pollutants are a major factor. The EEA notes that mercury and brominated flame retardants contribute significantly to the poor chemical status of surface waters. If these long-lived pollutants were excluded from the assessment, the proportion of surface waters achieving good chemical status would rise from 29% to 80%.

Groundwater provides two thirds of EU drinking water

Groundwater is one of Europe’s most important — and often invisible — water resources.

According to the EEA, groundwater supplies approximately two thirds of the EU’s drinking water and supports ecosystems such as rivers and wetlands. In the data reported by Member States:

77% of groundwater body area had good chemical status.
91% had good quantitative status.
Nitrates and pesticides were among the major pollutants responsible for failure to achieve good chemical status.

This illustrates why water literacy cannot be limited to visible water.

A river, lake or reservoir is immediately recognisable as a water resource. Groundwater is not. Yet it is fundamental to drinking water supplies, agriculture and ecosystems.

Understanding these less visible connections is an important part of becoming water literate.

2. Drought in Europe: the situation in 2026

Long-term assessments show structural pressure on European water resources. Current monitoring demonstrates how these pressures can translate into concrete drought conditions.

The European Drought Observatory, part of the Copernicus Emergency Management Service, monitors drought using a Combined Drought Indicator (CDI), together with temperature and hydrological indicators.

The latest assessment available in August 2026 shows that the situation remains serious.

In early August 2026, drought conditions remained stable and critical across most of Europe, while watch conditions expanded in the Iberian Peninsula and Germany. During the same period, Europe experienced above-average temperatures, with a heatwave affecting much of the Mediterranean, the Balkans and central-eastern Europe.

The geographical distribution is particularly relevant.

Alert drought conditions

Alert conditions persisted in:

southeastern United Kingdom
France
southern Germany
northern Italy
parts of the Iberian Peninsula
Belarus and Poland
areas of the Danube basin, including Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine.

Warning drought conditions

Warning conditions continued across significant parts of:

France
Germany
Belgium
the Netherlands
the United Kingdom and Ireland
the Alps
northern Italy
the Balkans
parts of Scandinavia
central and eastern Europe.

This is particularly significant for Wateracy because the situation is not geographically restricted to the traditionally drought-prone Mediterranean region.

Central and Eastern Europe are also increasingly exposed to drought conditions.

Romania, for example, has repeatedly appeared among the countries affected by alert or warning conditions during the 2026 monitoring period. In mid-June, alert conditions worsened in Romania, alongside Hungary, France, Germany, Austria and the United Kingdom. By mid-July, alert conditions continued across parts of Romania and the wider Danube basin.

3. Drought and water scarcity are not the same thing

One of the most important concepts for understanding Europe’s water situation is the difference between drought and water scarcity.

The European Commission defines drought as a temporary decrease in precipitation in a particular region. Water scarcity, by contrast, occurs when demand for freshwater exceeds available supply.

This distinction changes how we understand the problem.

A drought may be triggered by climatic conditions.

Water scarcity, however, can be intensified by human activity.

The European Commission identifies several factors contributing to water scarcity:

excessive abstraction of water;
economic activities expanding without sufficient consideration of available water resources;
land sealing, which reduces the capacity of soils to absorb rainfall;
chemical pollution of groundwater and rivers;
insufficient wastewater treatment and reuse;
and droughts that deplete aquifers and reservoirs.

In other words, Europe is not simply facing a problem of « not enough rain. »

It is facing a problem of how the entire water cycle is managed.

4. The economic cost of water scarcity

The consequences extend far beyond the environment.

According to the European Commission, droughts may cost Europe up to €9 billion every year. Water scarcity affects approximately 30% of Europeans and 20% of European land annually.

Agriculture is particularly exposed.

Heat and drought threaten crop production not only in southern Europe but increasingly in central Europe as well. Prolonged drought can affect food security and drinking water supplies, while the combination of drought and excessive water use can contribute to substantial reductions in EU food production.

Energy is also closely connected to water.

The European Commission reports that cooling for electricity generation accounts for approximately 32% of freshwater withdrawals in the EU every year. During the record drought conditions of 2022, reduced water availability affected hydroelectric, thermoelectric and nuclear power generation.

Water therefore sits at the centre of several systems simultaneously:

water → food → energy → economy → health → ecosystems

This interconnectedness is one of the reasons why water literacy is increasingly important.

5. What is happening to Europe’s water is also a knowledge challenge

The scientific evidence is extensive.

Europe has sophisticated monitoring systems, including the European Drought Observatory and Copernicus services. The EEA regularly assesses the ecological, chemical and quantitative status of Europe’s water bodies. European institutions have developed legislation and strategies addressing water quality, scarcity, pollution and ecosystem restoration.

But scientific knowledge does not automatically become public understanding.

A person may know that water scarcity exists without understanding what causes it.

Someone may know that droughts are becoming more frequent without understanding the difference between drought and water scarcity.

A household may try to reduce its water consumption without knowing that a large part of its water footprint is associated with food, energy and manufactured products.

A young person may live next to a river without knowing how agricultural pollution, groundwater, climate change or river modification affect that ecosystem.

This gap between scientific knowledge and everyday understanding is one of the issues addressed by Wateracy.

6. Wateracy: measuring the human side of Europe’s water challenge

The Wateracy project approaches the European water challenge from a different but complementary perspective.

Rather than looking only at water availability, pollution or drought indicators, Wateracy investigates people’s knowledge, perceptions and relationship with water.

The project’s national research examines how people understand water consumption, water resources and their own connection with water. The results are brought together in the Wateracy Research Roadmap, allowing the research carried out in partner countries to be explored comparatively.

Explore the Wateracy Research Roadmap

The project involves partners from Belgium, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Romania, with a particular focus on increasing water literacy and water stewardship among young people, especially young people from marginalised communities.

This makes the research particularly relevant to the European situation described above.

The EEA tells us what is happening to Europe’s water.

Copernicus helps us understand where drought is happening and how conditions are evolving.

The European Commission explains why water scarcity occurs and what can be done about it.

Wateracy adds another question:

How well do people understand all of this — and how does that understanding influence their relationship with water?

7. From water consumption to water literacy

Water literacy goes beyond knowing that water is important.

It involves understanding the relationship between:

personal consumption and available water resources;
water and food production;
water and energy;
rivers, groundwater and ecosystems;
climate change and water availability;
pollution and water quality;
individual behaviour and collective water management.

This broader understanding is essential because many water-related impacts remain invisible.

Turning on a tap gives us access to clean water, but it hides the infrastructure, energy, treatment processes and natural resources behind that access.

Buying food hides the water required to produce it.

Using electricity can involve significant water withdrawals.

Building on land can change how rainfall enters the water cycle.

Agricultural production can affect both water quantity and water quality.

The challenge for water literacy is therefore to make these connections visible.

8. The importance of perception and behaviour

There is already evidence that Europeans recognise the seriousness of the issue.

According to the European Commission, 48% of Europeans consider droughts and water shortages the main threat to water in their country. At the same time, 67% believe energy producers should do more to use water efficiently, while 75% believe industry should do more to improve water efficiency.

These figures show that concern exists.

But concern is not necessarily the same as understanding.

And understanding is not necessarily the same as action.

This creates an important sequence:

Awareness → Knowledge → Understanding → Behaviour → Participation

Wateracy’s research is positioned within this chain.

By investigating people’s existing knowledge and perceptions, the project can help identify where educational interventions are needed and how water literacy can become more meaningful in different local and national contexts.

9. What does a water-literate Europe look like?

A water-literate society does not mean that every citizen needs to understand hydrological modelling or European water legislation.

It means that people are able to recognise water as a finite, interconnected and shared resource.

A water-literate citizen should be able to ask:

Where does my water come from?
How much water do I actually use?
What happens to it after use?
How does my consumption affect water resources?
What is the difference between drought and water scarcity?
Why can flooding and water scarcity happen in the same region?
How does agriculture affect water?
Why is groundwater important?
What can communities do to protect local water resources?
How can citizens participate in decisions concerning water?

These are not purely environmental questions.

They are questions about citizenship, participation and responsibility.

10. From European data to local action

The European evidence points towards several priorities.

The EEA identifies reducing water use, improving efficiency, reducing leakage, increasing water reuse and restoring natural systems as important components of greater water resilience. It also highlights the importance of restoring wetlands, floodplains and free-flowing rivers.

The European Commission similarly points to more efficient agriculture, drought-resistant crops, wastewater reuse, healthier soils, groundwater protection and nature-based solutions as part of the response to water scarcity.

But infrastructure and policy cannot achieve water resilience alone.

The transition also requires people who understand why these measures matter.

This is where the Wateracy research roadmap connects the European environmental picture with the social and educational dimension.

The research asks us to look not only at the state of Europe’s water, but also at the state of people’s relationship with water.

11. The road ahead for Wateracy

The current European situation gives a clear context to the Wateracy project.

In 2026, drought conditions remain critical across large parts of Europe. Water stress already affects 30% of Europe’s population and 20% of its territory each year. Only 37% of surface water bodies have good or high ecological status, while only 29% have good chemical status. Groundwater, which supplies around two thirds of EU drinking water, remains exposed to pollution pressures. Droughts may cost the European economy up to €9 billion annually.

These are not isolated environmental statistics.

They describe a challenge that will increasingly influence food production, energy, health, biodiversity, local economies and everyday life.

The response therefore needs to operate at several levels:

European policy and monitoring.

Local water management.

Technological and nature-based solutions.

Changes in economic practices.

And, importantly:

education and water literacy.

The Wateracy research roadmap contributes to this last dimension by documenting what people know, how they perceive water and where gaps in understanding can be identified.

Conclusion: Europe’s water future is also a knowledge challenge

The evidence leaves little doubt that Europe’s relationship with water is changing.

Water stress already affects millions of Europeans. Drought conditions are appearing across regions traditionally considered relatively water-secure. Water quality remains below the objectives established decades ago. Agriculture continues to exert significant pressure on water resources, while climate change is increasing uncertainty and intensifying extremes.

At the same time, Europe has significant scientific knowledge and increasingly sophisticated tools for monitoring these changes.

The next challenge is to connect that knowledge with society.

People cannot protect a resource they do not understand.

Water literacy can help bridge this gap.

For Wateracy, this means moving beyond the question of how much water people consume and exploring the deeper relationship between knowledge, perception, behaviour and water stewardship.

The Wateracy Research Roadmap is part of this effort: bringing together national research to understand how people relate to water and using that evidence as a foundation for educational activities, youth participation and community action.

Europe’s water future will depend on better policies, better infrastructure and better management.

But it will also depend on something much more fundamental:

a society that understands water — and understands its own role within the water cycle.