A holistic water balance of Austria - how does the quantitative proportion of urban water requirements relate to other users?

• Published in: Water science and technology 2012-01, Vol.66 (3), p.549-555
• Main Author: Vanham, D
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural industry; Agricultural land; Agriculture; Agriculture - statistics & numerical data; Aquifers; Austria; Cities - statistics & numerical data; Conservation of Natural Resources; Consumption; Crops; Evapotranspiration; Grasslands; Groundwater; Hydrology; Meadows; Municipal water; Municipalities; Resources; Statistical methods; Statistics; Water; Water balance; Water consumption; Water purification; Water requirements; Water Supply - statistics & numerical data; Water use
• ISSN: 0273-1223; 1996-9732
• DOI: 10.2166/wst.2012.201

Traditional water use statistics only include the blue water withdrawal/consumption of municipalities, industry and irrigated agriculture. When, however, green water use of the agricultural sector is included as well as the virtual water use/water footprint (WF), water use quantity statistics become very different. In common water use statistics, Austria withdraws in total about 2.5 km(3) per year, only 3% of available resources (total discharge 81.4 km(3) = surface and ground water). The total water consumption (0.5 km(3)) is less than 1% of available resources. Urban (municipal) water requirements account for 27% of total withdrawal or 33% of consumption. When agricultural green water use (cropland) is included in statistics, the fraction of municipal water requirements diminishes to 7.6% of total withdrawal and 2.5% of total consumption. If the evapotranspiration of grassland and alpine meadows is also included in agricultural green water use, this fraction decreases to 3.2% and 0.9% respectively. When the WF is assessed as base value for water use in Austria, the municipal water use represents 5.8% of this value. In this globalized world, these traditional water use statistics are no longer recommendable. Only a holistic water balance approach really represents water use statistics.