Negotiated Agreements Between Water Suppliers and Farmers in the Context of Changing Water Networks in Europe

Abstract

Water problems make up a considerable part of the environmental problems with which our world struggles. Water quality is bad and worsening in the low-income countries and generally acceptable and slightly improving in the high-income countries (World Bank, 1992). In Europe, the improvement of drinking water quality has been the single most important cause of the increase of life expectancy (World Bank, 1992). Nevertheless, even in Europe water supply is threatened. In the European Union this is generally not a quantitative, but a qualitative problem. In particular the pollution of aquifers with nitrates and pesticides and the pollution of surface waters with nitrogen, phosphorus and various other substances gives cause for concern (European Commission, 1992). Meanwhile, the amount of water that is withdrawn for various uses is still increasing and the water has to be purified in ever more expensive ways. Nevertheless there remain uncertainties that hamper adequate action. These consist not only of uncertainties about the relationship between human dimensions and the deterioration of groundwater quality, but also of uncertainties about the ability to produce the desired changes in these human inputs. In this chapter we want to stress this aspect of the problem.