92% of European households (in major cities) are connected to piped water, in contrast to the 43% of African households.

In large parts of eastern Europe, western Russia, central Canada and California, peak stream flows have shifted from spring to winter as more precipitation falls as rain rather than snow, therefore reaching the rivers more rapidly.

The 2002 floods in Europe claimed 100 lives and caused US$ 20 billion in damage.

In the 90s, the regions of Asia and the Pacific had more lakes and reservoirs with eutrophication problems (54%) than Europe (53%), Africa (28%), North America (48%) and South America (41%).

50 out of 69 river stretches in Europe are found to be in poor ecological condition due to the impacts of canalization, dams, pollution and altered flow regimes.

Improvements have been made in reducing water pollution, mostly through stricter controls on industrial discharges and more sophisticated and comprehensive sewage and stormwater treatment.

Half of Europe's alpine glaciers could disappear by 2025. In 2003, extreme warm and dry weather conditions caused an average decrease in glaciers thickness in the Alps of about 3 metres water equivalent, nearly twice as much as during the previous record year, 1998, and roughly 5 times more than the average loss recorded during the exceptionally warm period of 1980-2000.

Water resources are unevenly distributed in Europe. Annual average run-off ranges from 3,000 mm in western Norway to 100-400 mm over much of central Europe and less than 25 mm in central and southern Spain.

Only 4 European countries reported not having full water supply and sanitation coverage in 2000, all of which are in Eastern Europe: Estonia, Hungary, Romania and the Russian Federation. The water in Spain, however, is concentrated in a few city centers, meaning that large parts of the country are water scarce.

Tourists in Grenada, Spain generally use 7 times more water than local people and this discrepancy is common in many developing tourist areas.

In dryer regions like the Mediterranean, the issue of water scarcity is of particular concern. Because of the hot climate and tourists’ tendency to consume more water when on holiday than they do at home, the amount used can run up to 440 litres a day. This is almost double what the inhabitants of an average Spanish city use.