The below flow chart displays the flows of mains water, surface water and groundwater in the Netherlands in 2020. In total, 14.2 billionВ m 3 was extracted from surface water and groundwater in 2020, i.e. At 1.6 billion m 3, the extraction of surface water and groundwater by drinking water companies was a relatively small part of total water consumption.

This is caused by less central energy generation, which requires cooling. Whereas water consumption by households and at farms increased, water usage in the energy supply for cooling purposes declined from 9.4 billionВ m 3 in 2019 to 8.8 billionВ m 3 in 2020: a decrease of nearly 7 percent. Livestock farming saw the sharpest increase in water consumption. In 2020, this water usage was 2 percent lower than in 2019. Drinking water at farms is mostly used for watering animals and for cleaning stables and milking equipment. More groundwater and surface water was used for irrigation in 2018, 20 than in previous years, due to drought in the growing season. In total, the agricultural sector consumed 349 millionВ m 3 of water in 2020. In 2020, groundwater usage in agriculture increased by 8 percent relative to 2019, to 214 million m 3 surface water usage rose by over 70 percent to 93 million m 3. Due to the precipitation deficit, fields and grasslands had to be irrigated to a larger extent in 2020. April and May were very dry in particular, with 29 mm precipitation against a long-term averageВ of 105 mm. Although the national average precipitation level stood at 860 millimetres in 2020, rainfall was lower than average during the important period April to September. Water usage in agriculture is highly dependent on weather conditions. Higher farm water usage due to spring drought Household drinking water consumption, daily average (litres per person) Household drinking water consumption, daily average Jaar This lower water consumption is mainly due to household appliances becoming ever more economical. In addition, the spring and summer periods were relatively warm and dry, causing households to use more drinking water for watering the garden or filling swimming pools.ДЇrom 2003 to 2014, household drinking water consumption per inhabitant still fell by almost 8 percent, from 138 to 127 litres per person per day. For example, they flushed the toilet more often at home than at work or at school. The increase in mains water consumption in 2020 went hand in hand with the first year of coronavirus, in which people stayed at home more. In 2019, this was nearly 130 litres per day. Household drinking water consumption over 4 percent up in 2020Д«ased on the drinking water supplied, per capita drinking water consumption amounted to more than 134 litres per day. Households (drinking water) (million m 3)Д¬ompanies (industrial water) (million m 3)ДЎ)Mains water consists of drinking water and industrial water.

Average water consumption per day