Proyecto "Under the Surface": mapa interactivo actualizado de los daños a los acuíferos de Europa

Europe has long been proud of its clean water: accessible, abundant, and drinkable. Most of what we drink, irrigate our crops with, and use in our industries, comes from deep underground, from within vast labyrinths of aquifers. This precious groundwater sustains an entire continent and has helped turn Europe into one of the most sanitary and prosperous regions in the world.

About a hundred years ago, nations began to tap ever deeper into the earth to extract water, confident that this infinite resource would forever be replenished by rainfall. It took nearly a century, but our understanding has shifted drastically. Scientists have warned in recent years that this delicate system is in crisis. And that climate change and industrial overexploitation have resulted in a dramatic decline in the quality and quantity of underground freshwater in Europe.

The Under the Surface project, coordinated by Arena for Journalism in Europe and initiated by Datadista, delved into official data from European countries to reveal, for the first time, the extent of the danger we face.

Altogether, 14 journalists from seven countries analysed the most up-to-date EU figures and created an interactive map of Europe’s aquifers. The conclusion is that our water is disappearing and what remains is facing near-irreversible pollution. Over 15% of the aquifers mapped are in poor condition — dangerously overexploited, contaminated or both. This figure represents 26% of the aquifers by surface area. And the worst affected are important crop-producing countries, like Spain, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

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