68% of Europeans believe water is a serious problem
68% of Europeans
believe water is a
serious problem
“Without enough good quality water our economies and societies can neither thrive nor survive,” says european environment commissioner stavros dimas. “europeans realise the seriousness of the issue and they understand that action is needed to maintain clean and sufficient water resources for the survival of our society.”
Some 68% of Europeans think the quality of water in their country is a serious problem, according to a special Eurobarometer survey on Europeans’ opinion on water issues published by the European Commission this spring. The most worried are the Greeks, where 90% of people are concerned about water, and the least alarmed are the Austrians (26%). The report also shows that Europeans see the quantity of available water as an equally serious problem.
Deteriorating water quality. More Europeans (37%) feel the quality of water in their country has deteriorated over the last five years. Three out of four Cypriots believe the quality of water has deteriorated compared with 16% in Austria and 48% of Danes.
Industry and agriculture are seen as having the biggest impact on the quality and quantity of water in European countries and an overwhelming majority of Europeans think climate change will have an impact on water resources.
Europeans take action. Some 84% of Europeans say they are taking steps to reduce water-related problems. The use of environmentally-friendly household chemicals is another way Europeans are reducing their household‘s impact of water. With 78%, Austrians are the most likely to use such chemicals while only 33% of Romanians are.
For more information, please visit:
www.water.europa.eu/participate
