The shortage of fresh water is having an increasingly significant impact on government decisions: Moldova has declared a hydrological alert, whilst the Netherlands is restricting certain types of water use due to the drought. Against the backdrop of rising global demand, the European Commission forecasts that by 2030, demand for fresh water could exceed available supply by 40%.
Briefly about the main points
- Moldova has declared a 30-day hydrological alert.
- The water level in the Dniester Reservoir is significantly below normal.
- In the Netherlands, tap water is available, but not for all purposes.
- Half of the world’s population faces acute water shortages every year.
- Most freshwater flows are linked to shared river basins between countries.
Moldova is preparing backup water supplies
The Moldovan Government has declared a 30-day hydrological alert due to a decline in water resources in the basin Dniester. As of 27 July, the water level in the Dniester Reservoir had fallen to 113.24 metres, compared with the normal level of 121 metres.
The authorities attribute the situation to a severe shortage of rainfall in the Carpathians, where part of the country’s water resources originate. In the absence of significant rainfall in the upper part of the catchment area, this trend is likely to continue.
Moldova is considering the risk of the discharge from Novodnistrovsk falling below 100 cubic metres per second. This could hamper the operation of water intakes and reduce the natural dilution of pollutants in the river.
National and local authorities are to assess the potential for abstracting groundwater and other reserve sources, inspect water intake points on the Dniester and its tributaries, and prepare reserve boreholes. Operators have been instructed to update their plans for uninterrupted water supply and to reduce losses in the distribution networks.
The Netherlands allocates water to meet various needs
In the Netherlands, due to heatwave, drought and record-low river flows have resulted in an actual water shortage. The water supply to households has not been cut off, but the available supply is no longer sufficient to meet all needs.
The authorities are restricting irrigation, preparing emergency pumps and opening the sluice gates less frequently. The latter measure is intended to reduce the influx of seawater into rivers and the associated salinisation.
Under such circumstances, governments are forced to prioritise the allocation of resources between the needs of the population, agriculture, industry and natural ecosystems.
Demand is rising, whilst the supply of fresh water is dwindling
According to UNESCO, around half the world’s population faces acute water shortages for at least a few months each year. Global demand for water has been rising by almost 1% per year since the 1980s.
Every year, the planet loses approximately 324 billion cubic metres of fresh water. This volume is equivalent to the estimated annual water requirements of 280 million people.
The combination of steadily rising demand, droughts and declining reserves means that water shortages are increasingly manifesting themselves not only as a local problem, but also as a constraint on day-to-day water use.
Shared rivers require agreements between states
Transboundary rivers and basins account for 60% of the world’s freshwater flow. However, only 43 of the 153 countries that share such resources have agreements covering almost all of their shared water resources.
This makes coordination more difficult during periods of low water availability, when one country’s decisions regarding water use or discharges can affect other stakeholders in the river basin. According to the European Commission’s forecast, by 2030 global demand for fresh water could exceed available supply by 40%.
