EEA warns of health risks from worsening water quality due to climate change

2024-09-09

EEA warns of worsening water quality due to climate change.

Climate change is reducing water quality and worsening floods and droughts, posing an increasing threat to our health, according to a report by the European Environment Agency (EEA). At Adasa we are digital experts in the water sector with more than 30 years of experience in helping public and private organizations solve integrated water resource management.

“Responding to climate change impacts on human health in Europe: focus on floods, droughts and water quality,” says it is urgent to accelerate implementation and improve coordination of efforts by governments, water authorities and healthcare providers to prevent and reduce health impacts.

The elderly, children, people with health problems, low-income groups, farmers and emergency service teams are among the groups suffering the greatest health impacts from waterborne diseases, floods, droughts and wildfires.  

Due to water demand and droughts, regions of Europe are under almost permanent water stress, and not only in the south of the continent.

Water quality and climate change
EEA identifies the following effects of climate change on water quality:

  • Rising air and water temperatures facilitate the growth of pathogens, increasing the risk of waterborne diseases.
  • Heavy rains double the likelihood of harmful pathogen concentrations in water bodies due to polluted runoff and combined sewage overflows.
  • In low-lying areas, sea level rise causes saline water intrusion into groundwater and surface aquifers, with indirect effects on crops.
  • Reduced water flows during dry periods result in higher concentrations of pollutants, requiring costly wastewater treatment. During hot, dry periods, cyanobacterial blooms in nutrient-rich waters can compromise water quality.

Effective solutions require faster deployment
The European Environment Agency has identified efficient water management as one of the essential actions to be taken to improve our preparedness for future climate-related health challenges.

Actions to prevent water-related climate change effects on health are:

  1. Water supply diversification
  2. Wastewater reuse
  3. Monitoring and control
  4. Climate-resilient sanitation facilities
  5. Early warning systems
  6. Resilient water infrastructure
  7. limate resilient development
  8. Flood protection infrastructure

Short-term measures should include public awareness of risks and solutions and, in the long term, infrastructure improvements and systematic planning and investment. 

Adasa in the face of future water challenges
In line with these recommendations, Adasa has developed digital solutions such as Dam360 for dam safety, systems for water quality management with virtual sensors and opsCTRL for operations support in treatment plants. We also support leak detection with artificial intelligence through FIDO.