Europe’s Hidden Water Crisis: Climate Change and Mismanagement Deplete Water Reserves

Water scarcity is no longer a distant threat. For eight months, a team of four journalists documented how the water crisis is reshaping daily life in many places in the three countries.

In north-eastern Romania, the water crisis expanded inequalities between rural and urban areas. Villagers were left to fend for themselves, while water flows freely in neighbouring towns.

In Italy, towns that rely on ancient springs are now facing unprecedented year-round water shortages, largely due to poor management, forcing residents to ration water even for basic needs.

In Germany, locals and activists are pushing back against global corporations such as Red Bull, accused of exploiting critical groundwater reserves around Berlin.

The investigation uncovers systemic failures: outdated infrastructure, a lack of quantitative groundwater data, and a societal disregard for the finite value of water. Yet, grassroots solutions are increasing, from rainwater collection in Romania, to activism in Germany, to legal action in Italy.

Photo on the right: Ionuț, a resident of the village of Cerchejeni in north-eastern Romania, fills his dry well with water from a reservoir installed by the local authorities. The village has never been connected to the water grid and all local wells have dried up over the past decade (c) Cosmin Filisan

Below:

– The Verde spring in the Majella Massif, one of the most important water reservoirs in Abruzzo, central Italy. (c) Natalia Alana

– A dry field in Brandenburg Germany (c) Antonia Gross