The European Commission on Wednesday urged EU member states to re-use treated urban waste water as irrigation on the continent's parched farms.

Much of Europe has been hit by a lengthy dry spell this year, and the EU executive warns that climate change could see half of the river basins in the bloc short of water by 2030.

"Freshwater resources are scarce and increasingly under pressure," said Virginijus Sinkevicius, EU commissioner for the environment, fisheries and the oceans.

"We need to stop wasting water and use this resource more efficiently to adapt to the changing climate and ensure the security and sustainability of our agricultural supply."

More that 40 billion cubic metres of waste water are treated every year in the EU, but only 964 million are reused, according to the European Commission.

Places like Israel, California, Singapore and Australia already have better systems in place to redirect waste water to farms -- and Brussels thinks EU members could re-use at least six billion by 2025.

A new EU water use regulation will come into effect from June 2023, but the commission wants member states to move quickly to redirect treated water to irrigation.

Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Utah's Great Salt Lake is disappearing
Paris (ESA) Aug 02, 2022
Utah's Great Salt Lake dropped to its lowest recorded water level last month as a megadrought persists across the US southwest, forcing the fast-growing city to curb its water use. From space, satellite images show how water levels have fallen from 1985 to 2022 - exposing large expanses of lakebed. According to data from the US Geological Survey, the Great Salt Lake's surface water elevation fell to the lowest level since records began in the mid-1800s, to an average of 1277 m above sea level. As ... read more