Environmental Commissioner: Praid flooding is one of too many calls to fix broken water cycle

  Climate change also comes with more frequent and intense floods and no country is spared, one example to this being the flooding of the Praid salt mine (Harghita County), and this is why EC President Ursula von der Leyen has made the development and implementation of a Comprehensive Water Resilience Strategy a key political priority, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy Jessika Roswall on Tuesday told the Danube-Eastern Europe Regional Water Forum in Bucharest.From west to east, no part of Europe is spared, Roswall said, citing the example of widespread damage caused recently at the iconic Praid salt mine, where the Corund River seeped into the underground galleries at the end of May and compromised its stability. Moreover, the EU official said, the flooding led to saline pollution, threatening the environment and water supplies of the communities. As an immediate response, the Romanian authorities activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, requesting specialist assistance for recovery efforts. Experts from Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Hungary have been taking on-the-ground action since early June, helping Romanian experts develop recovery strategies and assess risks, said Jessika Roswall.According to the European Commissioner, there is no "quick fix" to solve the water crisis. The strategy tabled earlier this month in Brussels is not a "miracle solution", but provides a charting approach and a small toolkit in the right direction. There can be no solution without cooperation, and this is all the more true for the Danube, where a source-to-sea approach has proven to help preserve the Danube Delta reserve.With this in mind, the strategy proposes three goals, Jessika Roswall said. First - fixing the broken water cycle. Second - building a water-smart economy, and the third - ensuring clean and accessible water for all, she detailed.According to the Commissioner, Europe should aim to increase water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030. "Member States know their national situation best, so we are very attentive to regional and local differences. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Different sectors have different needs," said Roswall.She also underscored that there is an urgent need to modernise water infrastructure across Europe and stimulate investment. "On average, 30% of water is lost in Europe due to leaking pipes before it reaches users. In some countries in the Danube basin, this share can be as high as 50%," the European official said. She added that around two-thirds of Europe's investments in modernising its water infrastructure are covered by public funding, but there is still an investment gap.The European Commissioner called for making the most of the digital transformation and innovation. "There are a lot of innovative solutions to improve the cost and time efficiency of leak detection and repair, to save water at home and to anticipate limited resources," Jessika Roswall said.The Romanian Water Association (ARA) is organizing the 25th edition of the Danube-Eastern Europe Regional Water Forum at Bucharest's Romexpo exhibition complex from June 23 to 25, as well as the international specialist exhibition ExpoApa. During the three days, professional debates are organized, attended by public authorities, international experts, operators, technology providers, researchers and academics, from the country and abroad.