Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+) at the river basin scale (summer 2015), Apr. 2019

This vector dataset presents the Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+) for European river basin districts for Q3 2015 (Jul, Aug, Sep).

The Water Exploitation Index plus (WEI+) aims to illustrate pressure on renewable water resources of a defined territory (river basin, sub-basin etc.) in a given period (e.g. seasonal, annual) as a consequence of water use for human activities. Values above 20 % indicate that water resources are under stress, and above 40 % indicate severe stress and a clearly unsustainable use of freshwater resources (Raskin et al., 1997). The WEI+ has been estimated as the quarterly average per river basin district, for the years 1990-2015, as defined in the European catchments and rivers network system (ECRINS).

The dataset is underpinning an earlier version of the EEA indicator assessment: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-freshwater-resources-2/assessment-3