Water and Waste Water

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National Accounts, Economic Statistics
Michael Berg Rasmussen
+45 51 46 23 15

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Water and Waste Water 2022

The statistics concerning water and waste water estimates the abstraction and use of water as well as discharge of waste water distributed on municipalities.

The water account document abstraction of water, use in households and industry groups (as used in the Danish National Accounts) as well as the discharge of waste water via waste water treatment plants to the aquatic environment. The water accounts are based on water and waste water statistics as well as micro-data from the Jupiter database managed by GEUS (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland) and reports on point sources from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

The economic water account document the income in water supply and waste water treatment plants from households and industry groups. The account is based price information from water supply and waste water companies that are member of DANVA, information on individual companies, population, households as well as the physical water account.

Statistical presentation

The water account consist of a physical and an economic part. The physical water account document abstraction of water, use well as the discharge of waste water to the aquatic environment in households and 117 industry groups as used in the other parts of the environmental economic account and in the ordinary Danish National Accounts. The economic water account document the income in water supply and waste water treatment plants from households and industry groups. The water accounts are prepared annually and published in Latest releases from Statistics Denmark and in StatBank Denmark.

The water account is a module in the environmental economic accounts for Denmark. Read about the environmental economic accounts.

Statistical processing

Statistics Denmark prepares water statistics based on data from GEUS on abstraction of water and waste water statistics based on data from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The distribution of abstraction of water, use of water and discharge of waste water between industrial groups as well as the cost are based on a number of additional sources.

Relevance

Water accounts and statistics are of relevance for administrative bodies, researchers, NGOs, businesses, the educational sector and individuals - all with interests in water, pollution, resources, economic-environmental interactions, etc. To ensure international comparability, the waste accounts are prepared according to the UN statistical standard SEEA (System of Environmental-Economic Accounting) 2012.

Accuracy and reliability

The coverage of data abstraction water is assessed to be high. However, for fish farming the information may be insufficient. Therefore missing values have been imputed.

The coverage of data on waste water discharge is assessed to be high, as the information by law has to be included in development water management plans.

The coverage of data on abstraction of water, flows and deliveries to end users is assumed to be high.

The distribution on industrial groups - especially the 117 level - is subjected to some uncertainty.

Timeliness and punctuality

The statistics as well as physical and economic accounts have been published on time 11 months after the end of the reference period.

Comparability

The methods and data sources for the Water Accounts are unchanged throughout the period covered by published figures (2010-). International comparison is possible with all other national water accounts based on UN's statistical standard SEEA 2012.

Accessibility and clarity

The statistics are published in News from Statistics Denmark and in the Statbank. They will also be part of future publications from Statistics Denmark on Environmental-Economic Accounts (Green National Accounts).