Europe’s water crisis: How supplies turned to ‘gold dust’

Tensions have risen to such a point in France and Spain that riots have burst out between farmers, the biggest consumers of the continent’s water supply, and environmental groups. In the coming years, a mixture of poor policymaking, vested interests and rapid climate change appears set to make the situation even worse.

Long accustomed to cool winters and high, steady levels of rain, Europe’s policymakers have tended to give water supplies little thought. “Most [water] regimes in Europe are legacies from times of plenty. They now need to be reformed to reflect scarcity,” said Leflaive. “These are very tricky and politically difficult reforms but to me they are essential.”

Despite concerns over water scarcity, the approach to distribution remains so lackadaisical in the EU that on average 25 per cent of drinking water is lost through leaky pipes, according to industry body EurEau.