Water Resilience Strategy
Water resilience is essential to safeguard Europe’s society, economy, and environment in the face of growing water challenges. Building a Water-Smart Society is key to ensuring long-term sustainability and security.
Resilience Strategy
A Water Europe Priority
The Water Resilience Strategy reflects a growing understanding among EU institutions and Member States that resilient water management is foundational to our competitiveness and wellbeing. As climate shocks, pollution, and water scarcity intensify across the continent, the strategy sets a clear course: repair Europe’s broken water cycle, build a Water-Smart Economy, and guarantee clean, affordable water for all Europeans.
The publication of this strategy is built on the Water Europe community’s longstanding and persistent commitment and mobilisation. Through continuous advocacy, co-creation, anchored in our network of Water-Oriented Living Labs and aligned with European initiatives such as the Water4All Partnership, and sustained efforts to build political momentum, we have helped make this vision a reality. Since the publication of its position on the EU Blue Deal or its Manifesto calling for a Strategy, a dedicated commissioner for water and Blue Transition Funds in the next MFF, Water Europe has actively contributed to the positions of the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions and joined forces in a coalition of 30+ organisations.
These are aligned with our objective to build a Water-Smart Society in Europe where water is managed in a way that ensures security, sustainability, and resilience. A Water-Smart Economy should be understood as the economic dimension of a Water-Smart Society. It operationalises the societal vision by embedding the value of water into how we grow, produce, invest and innovate. Together, a Water-Smart Economy and Society represent a holistic model where social equity, environmental integrity and economic vitality are interdependent drivers of water resilience.
OUR VISION
Building a Water–Smart Society
What is a Water–Smart Society?
- A society in which the value of water is recognised and realised to ensure water security, sustainability, and resilience.
- All available water sources are managed so that water scarcity and pollution are avoided.
- Water and resource loops are largely closed to foster a circular economy and optimal resource efficiency.
- The water system is resilient against the impact of climate and demographic change.
- All relevant stakeholders are engaged in guaranteeing sustainable water governance.
The Water Resilience Strategy
With this strategy the European Union aims to have a continent with as little water-stress as possible and a Europe that acts as inspiration to the rest of the globe. The strategy includes 3 objectives, with five enabling areas supported by flagship actions.
- Restoring and protecting the water cycle as the basis for water supply
- Building a water-smart economy together with citizens and economic actors in a way to supports EU competitiveness is attractive to investors and promotes the EU water industry.
- Securing clean and affordable water and sanitation for all and empowering consumers for water resilience.
Key Concepts
What is a Water-Smart Economy?
A Water-Smart Economy is the economic dimension of a Water-Smart Society. It operationalises the societal vision by embedding the value of water into how we grow, produce, invest, and innovate.
It is a system that recognises water not only as a basic need and environmental asset but as a strategic resource for innovation, competitiveness, and sustainable development. In this economy, the value of water is fully embedded in design, production models, business and investment strategies, and public well-being, ensuring water is used efficiently and within planetary boundaries across entire value chains and product life cycles. Circularity becomes the norm, with water, energy, and materials recovered and reused across sectors, especially through water reuse and recycling. This transition is powered by digital technologies applied across infrastructure and systems, alongside market mechanisms that incentivise sustainable practices.
A Water-Smart Economy builds resilience to risks such as scarcity, pollution, and climate extremes through adaptive infrastructure, cross-sectoral collaboration, and inclusive governance.
Together, a Water-Smart Economy and Society represent a holistic model where social equity, environmental integrity, and economic vitality are interdependent drivers of water resilience. In this vision, water is valued as a unifying force—fostering inclusive growth, ecological health, and innovation—to ensure long-term prosperity for people and the planet.
Source: Advancing investment in water resilience
What is the Water Cycle?
The water cycle, or hydrological cycle, is the continuous circulation of water through the Earth’s atmosphere, surface, and underground systems. It involves key processes such as evaporation (water turning into vapor from oceans and land), transpiration (release of vapor by plants), condensation (vapor cooling into clouds), precipitation (rain, snow, etc.), infiltration into soils, runoff across land, and temporary storage in bodies like rivers, aquifers, and glaciers. This cycle is vital for sustaining ecosystems, regulating climate, and providing water for human use, and it is increasingly impacted by human activities like pollution and land alteration.
In the EU, the entire water acquis, such as the directives like the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Framework Strategy Directive, aims to ensure high standards of water quality to safeguard biodiversity and the integrity of aquatic ecosystems.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science School. “The Water Cycle.” https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/water-cycle
What is Access to Water And Sanitation?
Access to sanitation and water refers to the reliable availability and affordability of safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities for all individuals, without discrimination. It encompasses physical access to water for personal and domestic use, including drinking, cooking, and hygiene, as well as the infrastructure and services needed for safely managing human waste. In the EU, this right is legally reinforced through the Drinking Water Directive (Directive (EU) 2020/2184), which ensures safe and clean water for human consumption, and the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (Council Directive 91/271/EEC), which mandates proper collection, treatment, and discharge of urban wastewater to protect human health and the environment. Together, these directives form the backbone of Europe’s legal commitment to water and sanitation access.
Source:
- Drinking Water Directive: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/drinking-water_en
- Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/urban-waste-water-treatment_en
Socio-economic study
Water Europe Positions
Water Europe contributed actively to the debate on the value of water in Europe and its strategic approach for the next years, mobilising its community through different activities and positions. You can find below the main position papers of Water Europe that contributed to the Water Resilience Strategy.
Water Resilience Strategy
For the first time, water is fully recognised in the EU Commission's portfolio, with a Water Resilience Strategy (WRS) set to tackle water scarcity, pollution, and efficiency while fostering innovation and a circular economy
Public Procurement
The EU stands at a critical juncture where water management and economic resilience must converge to address both environmental and societal challenges.
Facing the PFAS Issue
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large family of ten thousands of synthetic chemicals that have been widely used in numerous industrial applications and consumer products since the 1940s.
EU-funded Projects
Clusterzeropollution
IMERMAID
AquaSPICE
MULTISOURCE
NEXOGENESIS
H2OforAll
intoDBP
ToDrinQ
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