European Water Demand Model Results

Overview

This dataset contains modelled gross and net annual water demand for the domestic and industrial sectors in Europe. Results are spatially aggregated to basin and sub-basin level.

The dataset includes both historical model results and future projections under five pathways (P1–P5).

Temporal coverage

• Historical: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020
• Projections: 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045, 2050
• Projection pathways: P1, P2, P3, P4, P5

The year 2020 is included both as the final historical year and as the initial year of the projection pathways.

Spatial aggregation

Results are provided for:

• 23 basins
• 75 sub-basins

Each spatial unit is represented by a numerical model ID. A separate spatial lookup or GIS layer is required to link these IDs to basin and sub-basin names and geometries.

Directory structure

model_results/
├── historical/
│   ├── basin/
│   │   ├── domestic/
│   │   └── industry/
│   └── sub_basin/
│       ├── domestic/
│       └── industry/
└── predictions/
    ├── P1/
    ├── P2/
    ├── P3/
    ├── P4/
    └── P5/
        ├── basin/
        │   ├── domestic/
        │   └── industry/
        └── sub_basin/
            ├── domestic/
            └── industry/

File contents

Each text file contains two sections:

1. Gross demand
2. Net demand

Example:

Data on sub-basin id, gross demand
1: 5.7409e+07
2: 5.76958e+07
...

Data on sub-basin id, net demand
1: 5.5042e+07
2: 5.6211e+07
...

Values are annual water-demand estimates in m³/year.

The value -999 represents missing or undefined model output (NoData).

File naming

Historical example:

2000_2015_domestic.txt

Projection example:

P2_2000_2040_industry.txt

The filenames identify the projection pathway (where applicable), model reference year, output year, and sector. The spatial aggregation level is defined by the directory in which the file is stored (basin or sub_basin).

Sectors and variables

• Domestic – household/municipal water demand
• Industry – industrial water demand
• Gross demand – modelled gross water requirement
• Net demand – modelled demand after the recycling/reuse adjustment implemented in the model

Notes for reuse

• Scenario labels P1–P5 refer to the projection pathways used in the model. Detailed scenario assumptions should be obtained from the associated publication or accompanying metadata.
• Basin and sub-basin IDs are internal model identifiers and should be used together with the corresponding spatial lookup/GIS dataset.
• -999 should be treated as NoData and excluded from statistical analyses.
• Values in the text files are written in scientific notation where appropriate.

Data provenance and project context

This repository contains data related to deliverable D2.5, "Data sets on scenario narratives".

The data were prepared using Python scripts originally developed by Stephanie E. Lips and described in:

Towards a global high resolution water demand dataset. Effect of data quality and downscaling techniques – the case for Europe, Utrecht University, 2020.

The model workflow and input datasets also draw on publicly available data sources, including WorldPop, the World Bank, UNCTADstat, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Eurostat, FAO AQUASTAT, UNEP, and other open-source databases.

Sub-basin boundary shapefile

The dataset also includes a shapefile with sub-basin boundaries. Its attribute table contains the following fields:

Name, SUB_ID

This spatial layer can be used to visualize and map the model results at the sub-basin level. The numerical sub-basin identifiers reported in the result text files should be linked to the corresponding identifier field in the shapefile attribute table.

When sharing the shapefile on Zenodo, include all files that belong to the shapefile dataset (at minimum .shp, .shx, and .dbf, and preferably the accompanying .prj file if available).

Citation

When using these data, please cite the corresponding Zenodo dataset record and the associated publication describing the water-demand model and projection pathways.