Drought drives calls for water reuse and consumption register

Austria’s drought has pushed water reuse, reserves and consumption monitoring to the centre of the political debate, ORF reported. NEOS Lower Austria chair Indra Collini called for a concept covering non drinking water during an ORF summer interview, while experts said a nationwide register of water withdrawals was needed for crisis management.

The drought has left fields and gardens dried out and placed heavy pressure on agriculture. Environmental engineer Bernhard Pucher of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna said Austria did not need to turn wastewater into drinking water because it still had sufficient drinking water resources.

Instead, he said, drinking water should be replaced with non drinking water for uses such as toilet flushing and watering gardens, preventing drinking water consumption from rising sharply.

Countries that have faced repeated droughts have already adopted such approaches, Pucher said. Technologies for the hygienically safe treatment of drinking water and non drinking water are available.

He said Austria should consider equipping new residential buildings with separate pipes for greywater, which is wastewater without faecal matter that is lightly polluted. Failing to install such systems during construction would make later upgrades far more expensive, he said.

Pucher pointed to Catalonia in Spain, where 40 municipalities have decided to require greywater systems in new buildings. In agriculture, he cited Murcia in southern Spain, where vegetables also imported into Austria are irrigated with treated wastewater that meets European Union minimum standards.

In Austria, treated water is already indirectly used for irrigation. Lower Austria’s water management department said treated wastewater from sewage plants flows through streams and rivers back into the water cycle. This replenishes groundwater, which can later be extracted again.

Water ecologist Thomas Hein of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna said this return flow was ecologically essential in dry regions. He said authorities had to ensure a minimum flow in streams and rivers so that water use did not cause collateral damage to aquatic systems.

Lower Austria operates about 900 monitoring stations covering the water cycle, from precipitation and groundwater levels to water levels in streams and rivers. More than 300 provide real time data that is publicly accessible.

Water withdrawals beyond normal household use require approval under water law. However, Austria lacks a nationwide register of actual consumption. The Court of Audit said in 2024 that the existing electronic water register was incomplete, partly inaccurate and not automatically analysable.

Hein and Pucher said a water withdrawal register was necessary for responsible crisis management. Hein said the aim was not to monitor consumption during normal conditions, but to provide information during extreme situations such as the 2026 drought and prevent decisions being made without sufficient data.

Because extreme conditions can be indicated during winter by low snowfall and a lack of precipitation, real time consumption data could allow earlier and more targeted regional action. Pucher also said the register could help plan agriculture by showing how many resources were available and how many were needed.

The federal government is reportedly expected to present such a water withdrawal register in the autumn.