Declining Water Consumption Since 1987

Water Consumption In 2021

The total water consumption for 2021, divided into households, holiday homes, businesses, institutions and water losses, stood on average at 59.43 m3 per person per year. Households accounted for 69 % of the total volume of water sold.

An individual uses an average of 38.37 m3 per year, corresponding to 105 litres per day. The development in recent years has flattened, with minor fluctuations. 

Dead Lobster Ignites Focus On Aquatic Environment

For many Danes, a picture of a dead Norway lobsters in 1987 in The Danish Brodcast newscast Tv-Avisen became an eye-opener and the aquatic environment came into greater focus. Water was now regarded as a resource to be conserved.

The graph below shows some of the laws and regulations that are believed to have influenced this decline in water consumption. 

At a first glance, it appears that it was, in particular, the first Action Plan for the Aquatic Environment, with its increased environmental awareness among consumers combined with an increase in the wastewater tariff, that led to the decrease in water consumption.

Installation Of Meter

At the same time, the installation of water meters had a major impact on citizens’ ability to keep track of their consumption and see the effects of conserving water.

A requirement was introduced in 1996 for everyone to have a water meter installed, which gave water companies a greater insight into consumption, waste and leaks and enabled them to compute water loss from the distribution system.

Penalty On Water Loss

The focus was further intensified with the introduction of a penalty on water loss of more than 10 %.