WATCH Technical Report Number 55: Water for utilities: Climate change impacts on water quality and water availability for utilities in Europe

This report provides an assessment of the consequences of changing water availability for production of drinking water, the manufacturing industry and power production in Europe, due to climate change and socio-economic developments. The report is based upon projections of demographic and socio-economic trends and climate change impacts, according to the SRES A2 and B1 scenario’s also used by IPCC. Chapter 2 deals with water quality impacts of climate change in a European context, focusing solely on chloride and water temperature. Chapter 3 deals with water demand of domestic and industrial water use (manufacturing and power production), water availability and water stress on a European scale, as projected for the time horizons 2050 and 2100.