World Water Day: 44m Cubic Metres of Drinking Water Used Annually in Luxembourg

Tuesday 22 March 2022 was World Water Day, an opportunity to highlight the importance of groundwater in Luxembourg (and elsewhere).

"Our groundwater supplies a large part of the country's drinking water needs and, given climate change and the country's demographic and economic growth, these resources will become increasingly important to meet our growing needs for drinking water", emphasised Carole Dieschbourg, Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development. "Our groundwater resources are endangered by human activities and it is high time that everyone mobilised, at their level, to protect our precious resources".

Magali Bernard of Luxembourg's Water Management Authority added: "The importance of groundwater is undeniable: just consider that of the 44 million m3 of drinking water used per year in Luxembourg, 55% comes from no less than 250 groundwater catchments which are operated by 53 of municipalities and five drinking water unions".

Groundwater is a limited resource that must be exploited with care to avoid overexploitation and degradation. To this end, the the Water Management Authority carries out regular monitoring of spring flow and groundwater levels. The authority is also in charge of issuing authorisations relating to water and limiting withdrawals from groundwater in order to perpetuate their good quantitative status.

About 100 groundwater catchments in Luxembourg are currently out of service and cannot, for the time being, be used for the production of water intended for human consumption due to quality problems. Human activities, such as agriculture with the spreading of fertilisers and the spraying of phytopharmaceutical products on arable land, are responsible for the poor chemical quality of certain underground water catchments: approximately 13,000 m3/d, corresponding to the drinking water needs of more than 65,000 people, can therefore no longer be used for human consumption due to the poor state of groundwater.

"The impossibility of being able to use these resources degraded by anthropic activities presents a great challenge given that the drinking water needs are increasingly important due to climate change and the demographic and economic growth of Luxembourg", explained Minister Dieschbourg. Human activities, in particular agriculture, industry or soil sealing, not only have impacts on groundwater, but also on surface water, which must also be protected.

In order to protect Luxembourg's groundwater catchments and restore those that are contaminated, various measures are planned, particularly in the drinking water catchment protection zones. In these zones, many restrictions, obligations and prohibitions are put in place to minimise the risks of pollution of the catchments and to restore their quality if needed. 

Such measures form part of the package of measures of the third management plan to be drawn up under the framework directive for water. This management plan is currently in the finalisation phase. Its purpose is to achieve good status for both groundwater and surface water.