EU Develops Plan to Reduce Water Consumption

The European Commission is developing a program that will require EU member states to reduce water consumption by 10% by 2030 due to drought conditions, reports the British newspaper Financial Times.

EU countries will also be urged to increase investments in wastewater treatment infrastructure. The Financial Times notes that the program, set to be presented in June of this year, will be the European Commission's first attempt to set targets for the efficient use of water resources.

According to officials close to the program's development, the Commission is expected to propose an annual investment of 23 billion euros in water infrastructure. The publication emphasizes that this initiative reflects the concerns of EU member states regarding the depletion of groundwater resources within the EU.

Earlier, German scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry discovered that both severe droughts and heavy rainfall threaten the quality and sustainability of groundwater, which is a source of drinking water for billions of people worldwide.