On World Water Day held on 22 March 2016, the European Environment Agency published the Water Exploitation Index (WEI) showing that in some areas of Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean region, around 20 river basins face structural problems caused by water stress including Cyprus, Malta, Crete, the Balearic Islands and Sicily.
The situation worsens in the summer with the 2002-2012 WEI reaching 81% in Cyprus and 55% in Depura (Spain) thus pointing out serious water stress and clearly unsustainable use of water resources.
Water stress is occurring more and more often in other parts of Europe following an increase in urban population and reduced availability of water because of pollution and drought. Many large cities have developed wide networks to transport water, often for more than 100-200 km to be able to meet growing demand.