At first glance, nothing seems to be wrong: a visitor to Europe, enjoying the sight of Europe’s rivers, would be likely to imagine that all was well with Europe's fresh water: a continent of clean rivers, plentiful water supplies and advanced infrastructure.
乍看之下,似乎一切正常：一个陶醉于欧洲河流风光的游客， 很可能会心旷神怡地将欧洲的淡水资源状况想象得十分完美，认 为这个大陆处处河流清澈、供水充足，并且拥有先进的基础设施。
But the reality of Europe’s water resources is much more nuanced: a number of European countries are facing water scarcity; others are suffering the effects of two decades of chronic underinvestment and an infrastructure that has been delivered at great cost.
但是,欧洲水资源的实际情况却远非如此:一大堆欧洲国家正 面临着水源不足；另外一些国家还遭受着两大问题的折磨，一个是 持续20年的投资不足问题，另个是基础设施耗资过大问题。
Water resources in Europe are very uneven and indeed, apart from Scandinavia and countries fed directly by major systems such as the Rhine (e.g. the Netherlands) and the Danube (e.g. Hungary), scarcity (less than 1,700 M3 per capita per annum indicates water scarcity, less than 1,000 M3 equals water shortage) is already an issue (Sources: European Environment Agency (2003).
水资源在欧洲的分布非常不均勻，实际上，除了斯堪的纳维亚 半岛和那些直接受到莱茵河与多瑙河等主要水系供给的国家（如 荷兰和匈牙利)之外,水资源不足已经成为现实问题。（年平均人均 用水量少于1700立方米为水资源不足，少于1000立方米为水资源 短缺。资料来源:欧洲环境署(2003))
What we see is water usage being driven by the gradual shift towards post-industrial economies, along with the development of more efficient agriculture, while domestic and commercial (public) use is being boosted by lower household sizes (which gives a higher per capita usage) and continuing urbanization (but steady or even falling populations at the national level).
用水情况正被推向后工业经济时代，伴随着这一趋势的是高 效农业的不断发展，但同时，国内和商业(公共事业)用水量却不断 增加，这是因为家庭规模缩小(这使得人均用水量提高）和城市化 发展(但全国总人口却保持不变甚至减少)的缘故。
The need to lower water consumption is being made more urgent by climate change, which is already affecting water resources. Periods of warmer weather are boosting demand for water for agricultural and public use，while, at the same time, damaging inland water quality. The rainfall pattern is changing, too: overall rainfall is increasing in northern Europe, but it is falling in the south, espe* cially during the summer months when rain is most needed.
气候变化迫使我们需要进一步降低用水量，因为它已经影响 到了水资源。在天气变得更加温暖的时期，农业和公共事业用水量 飙升，而与此同时，内陆水源质量却被炎热的天气所破坏。降水模 式也在发生着变化:北欧的总降水量不断增加，南欧的降水量却在 减少,特别是在最需要雨水的夏季。
Besides, initial estimates across Europe show that 93% of rivers, 84% of lakes, 99% of coastal waters and 75% of groundwater are at risk of failing to achieve the standards needed to meet the Water Framework Directive and at the same time, the need to maintain river water quality means that new resources will have to be mobilized to provide water for other uses.
另据初步估计，全欧洲有93%的河流、84%的湖泊、99%的近海和75%的地下水的水质有可能达不到欧盟“水资源框架指令”的标准。与此同时，为了维持河流 的水质就意味着必须开发新的资源为其他的需求提供用水。
Any country that uses more than 20% of its water resources is likely to encounter regional shortages, especially during the summer and when rainfall is below average. Water shortages are currently a serious challenge.
一个国家的用水量如果超过了其水资源的20%，就有可能引发地区性用水短缺，特别是在夏 天以及降水量低于平均水量的年份。水资源短缺目前已经成为一个严重的问题。
Solutions have already been working. For example, those countries in which water is scarce can manage their resources by avoiding agricultural irrigation and power station cooling, along with encouraging efficient usage by domestic and commercial customers.
目前已经开始实施了一些措施。比如,那些水资源不足的国家可以通过某些措施来节约水资源， 一方面避免进行农业灌溉和电站冷却用水，另一方面鼓励国内和商业用水户有效用水。
Domestic water tariffs across EU have risen and are now approaching cost recovery levels— partly to comply with the Water Framework Directive and partly as a conservation measure. In the former East Germany, for example, water consumption has been driven down by 40% in the past 15 years as tariffs have risen.
欧盟各国国内用水费用普遍上涨，现在已经接近了“成本补偿”的水平——这一部分是为了执 行“水资源框架指令”,一部分是作为一种节水措施。例如，在原东德地区，在过去的15年中水的消 费量下降了 40%，正是水费提高的结果。
Again, the fall in usage in the Czech Republic and Romania between 1990 and 2002 reflects the shift away from heavy industry during this time and the impact of water tariffs being introduced for non-domestic customers.
又如，从1990年到2002年,捷克共和国和罗马尼亚的用水量大幅度下降，这反映了在此期间产 业脱离重工业的变化趋向，也反映了对非家庭用水户开征水费所带来的影响。
But, other problems arise at the same time. Much of Europe’s water distribution infrastructure is 50 or more years old and urgently in need of rehabilitation. In north London, for example, a distribution network that is already more than 100 years old and is losing 50% of its water through leakage. Apparently, there is a long way to go to meet the water challenge in EU.
但与此同时，其他问题又接踵而至，欧洲大部分的供水基础设施已经使用了 50年甚至更久，急 需进行重建。比如，在伦敦北部地区，其供水设施已经使用了 100年以上，50%的水都从裂隙流失掉 了。因此，要想控制水资源危机，欧盟还有很长的路要走。