The main objective of the Water Use Statistics is the study of the use of the "water" resource in the economic activity sectors (agriculture, industry, services, etc.) or in some specific branches of economic activity.
The variables that comprise the use of said resource present great heterogeneity, based on the branch or economic sector considered.
- Thus, in the agrarian sector, information is collected regarding the availability of water, according to the origin thereof (surface, groundwater, other resources) and regarding its use in plots, by crop group and irrigation technique.
- On the other hand, in the manufacturing industrial sector, the objective is to estimate the volume of water input used, and of water disposed of (effluents), as well as the average price for the supply and sanitation of the water.
- Lastly, in the services sector, this studies the use of water to enable the construction of indicators that stabilise the average allocations of water use, with regard to the final consumers thereof.
National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE-2009)
- Survey on water use in the agrarian sector
Division 36 , water collection, filtering and distribution (use by irrigation systems) of CNAE-2009
- Surveys on water use in industry and services
Given that these are integrated modules in the Surveys on the generation of waste in the industrial sector and in services, the sectors covered are the same as the aforementioned sectors, that is, the divisions comprising said sectors in CNAE-2009.
Survey on water use in the agrarian sector
The statistical unit is the irrigation entity (irrigation community).
Surveys on water use in industry and services
In the case of industry, the unit is the industrial establishment.
Regarding the services sector, the unit is the company.
For the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, the target population of study is the group of irrigation communities that carry out irrigation water distribution operations.
For the Survey on water use in industry, the target population are those industrial establishments with more than 10 paid employed persons, whose main activity is included in sections B, C, or D of CNAE-2009.
For the Survey on water use in services, the target population are those companies with more than 10 paid employed persons, whose main activity is included in sections G to R (inclusive) of CNAE-2009.
The three surveys cover the entirety of the national territory.
Teh utmost disaggregations of the survey estimations is the region ( NUTS II )
The Survey on water use in the agrarian sector: annually until 2016, biennally after this year.
The surveys on water use in the industrial and services sectors are of a discontinuous nature.
With regard to the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, said survey began to be conducted in the year 1999.
The first results from the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector were published in reference to the year 2006.
The unit of measurement is : thousand of cubic meters
In the case of the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, the data refers to the hydrological year (1 October - 30 September), even when, at times, the respondent units provides data referring to the calendar year. From 2016, the survey is carried out every two years ( biennial periodicity).
Concerning the implementation of the surveys on water use in industry and services, there is no fixed periodicity.
The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).
The statistics that gather information regarding the different water uses are included in National Statistical Plan 2017-2020, as statistical operation no. 7096, known as the "Statistics on water use".
Under the provisions of the framework Agreements established between the INE and the Statistical Units of the Autonomous Communities, microdata is provided for the Autonomous Communities of Aragón, Canarias, Castilla-La Mancha, Cataluña, Murcia and Navarra.
For the survey on water use in the agrarian sector, all of the Autonomous Communities with an irrigation area that is less than 1% of the national total are grouped under the "Rest of Autonomous Communities" heading.
The information from the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector is disseminated annually. Next years, the dissemination will be biennally.
For the surveys on water use in the rest of the economic sectors, there is no pre-established frequency.
As a general rule, a press release is disseminated, and the results are published in INEbase.
INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.
Tables and results in INEbase (www.ine.es/en/) / Physical area and environment / Environmental statistics/ Water or on the following link:
https://www.ine.es/dynt3/inebase/index.htm?type=pcaxis&path=/t26/p067/p03/serie&file=pcaxis&L=0
The anonymised microdata file can only be provided via specific petition, once the viability of the petition granting access to the information under strict confidentiality conditions is analysed.
A detailed description of the methodology of the surveys may be viewed on the website indicated in section 10.3:
This standardized methodological report contains all of the elements of what is considered a "User-oriented quality report" for this operation.
Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.
The compilation process of the statistics on water use have established statistical controls and validation rules, for the purpose of detecting and correcting errors and inconsistencies, and carrying out the corresponding corrections and imputations. The controls are based on the establishment of admissible ranges of values, as well as on the crossing of physical variables to identify water flow statuses and destinations, which from a natural environment perspective, cannot occur. The imputations are performed, based on average values previously calculated for the sample data, or elevated from the surveys (irrigation allocations by hectare, water use per employed worker, average prices, etc.)
On the other hand, during the information collection, measures are introduced to reduce non-response (direct actions from the responsible department toward the respondent units, direct collection from large companies, etc.).
All of these measures enable obtaining a final statistical product with the required quality and reliability.
The sample sizes are sufficient to provide reliable estimates, so much for the national total. In the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, at the same time as the data collection, the survey framework is updated, for the purpose of identifying those irrigation communities that do not have activity, or that have suspended such activity temporarily.
On the other hand, and with the objective of evaluating the quality of the final information obtained, this is compared with the external sources available (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, sector studies on water use, etc.) ). Likewise, interannual verifications are performed, for the purpose of identifying temporary trends in the data that illustrates the evolution of the statistical phenomenon studied.
The availability of a complete and integrated set of statistical information on water is an essential tool for gaining knowledge on the use of the "water resource", and therefore, for the design and execution of public actions in the hydrographic area.
The domestic users that are most interested in the surveys on water use in the agrarian sector are the administrative bodies with jurisdiction over the "water resource" (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Autonomous Community Councils), as well as academic researchers.
On an international scope, the information generated in these surveys serves to meet the international requirements for information (Eurostat, OECD, FAO, United Nations, etc.)
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)
In the User Satisfaction Surveys conducted to date, it is possible to view the evaluation of the environmental statistics sector in which this statistical operation is centred, which can help direct us with regard to user opinions of it.
The information collected enables meeting all the international information requirements, and in particular, those stipulated by the JQ - Inland Waters questionnaire (Eurostat - OECD).
Therefore, the rate of compulsory statistics results available is 100%.
With regard to the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, the sample studied reaches 65-70% of the framework, that is, of the irrigation area of the agricultural holdings attached to irrigation communities. This high degree of sampling coverage enables minimising sampling errors, and together with the aforementioned validation rules, reaches a high degree of accuracy of the survey results.
In the case of the surveys on water use in the industrial and services sectors, given that they are modules integrated in the Survey on waste generation in industry and services, the accuracy of the data is maximised by the stratified design of the sample, and the processes for error filtering and for imputation of non-response, which have been implemented in the said survey.
With regard to the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, it is not possible to calculate sampling errors, as the extraction from the sample is not based on probability, because it is based on a geographical coverage (irrigation area of the agricultural holdings attached to irrigation communities).
For the surveys on water use, the sampling errors are those calculated in the surveys on waste generation in industry and services.
Non-sampling errors are minimised, decreasing the non-response rate of the respondents via the pertinent repeat interview and re-call processes. As per the information requires that has not been filled in (missing), an imputation process is performed, in which the values of the geographically close irrigation communities are used.
The non-response rate in the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector is 7%. (A3=7%)
The data from the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector is disseminated by the INE 18 months following the beginning of the data reference period.
The dissemination of the data is carried out in accordance with the structural statistics availability calendar that the INE compiles and publishes each year.
With regard to the surveys on water use in the industry and services sectors, given their pilot and experimental studies nature, there is no availability calendar for the information.
In all of the surveys on water use in the economic activity sectors, the availability of a harmonised methodology, a stratified sampling design with proportional allocation criteria, or based on geographical coverage criteria, enables the information to be comparable among the Autonomous Communities.
A per the international scope, in the completion of the JQ - Inland Waters questionnaires, the methodological recommendations marked in the completion manual are followed, and therefore, the data is comparable at an international level.
In the case of the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, in temporary reference years 2007 and 2011, two methodological changes have occurred, affecting only the relative weight of the groundwater in the volume of water available. All of the elements are comparable in the global series, except those that affect the availability of groundwater and the volume of treated wastewater, since these variables are affected by the aforementioned methodological changes, and therefore, the number of comparable elements is 12, which is approximately 90%.
With regard to the information regarding water use in the industrial sector, time series have been compiled for the 2006-2010 period, and all the elements of the time series are comparable, that is, 100%.
Contrasts are performed for the different activity sectors studied, with the results of other surveys carry out by both the INE and other bodies.
Coherence is a fundamental requirement in planning the methodology of the surveys, as in their compilation process. The coherence between the variables is contrasted in all phases of the statistical process. The annual results of the variables are coherent with each other and with the available annual series.
For the purpose of reducing the response burden of respondent units, the completion of the questionnaires is facilitated for large business groups through a data collection process, as their particular characteristics are borne in mind. On the other hand, the sample design is coordinated with other surveys, with the objective of decreasing the response burden of respondent units, and the administrative information available is used, so as not to require data unnecessarily.
Regarding the data collection, online completion by users has been encouraged, as a safe and agile method for respondents, which has enabled improving the quality levels of the information collected.
The estimation of the budgetary credit necessary to finance the Water Use Statistics operation, as foreseen in the 2020 Annual Programme, comes to a total of 51,84 thousand euros.
The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).
This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow: routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.
Preview data is not disseminated, with the data being published when it is final.
In the case of the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector, the reference framework used is the General catalogue of irrigation communities from the year 1994, compiled by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and the Environment, which is updated with information from the Central Business Directory (CBD) that the INE compiles. The sample comprises approximately 700 irrigation communities, representing 75% of the irrigation area of the agricultural holdings attached to irrigation communities.
With regard to the survey on water use in the industrial sector, the reference framework is that of the Annual Products Survey.
In terms of the survey on water use in the services sector, the sample framework is that of the Annual Services Survey.
Until reference year 2016, the data collection for the Survey on water use in the agrarian sector has been annually. For reference year t, the data collection is performed during the September-December period of year t+1.
The information collection is carried out by the postal mailing of the questionnaire, followed by telephone support. Respondents also have the possibility of completing the questionnaire online and mailing it electronically or by fax. Together with the survey questionnaire, the respondent units receive a document with the norms for completing the questionnaire.
The information collection tasks are complemented, calling, by telephone, those respondents that have not submitted the survey questionnaire duly completed and on time. Support tasks for the collection are also carried out, such as updates to the directory, and the control and revision of the questionnaires.
The management of the sample datafile, both for data collection purposes and for the updating of the framework of respondent units, is carried out via a computer application established to this end, which permits guaranteeing the control and organisation of the entire collection process. This guarantees an efficient control over the process, from the beginning of the data collection onward, since systematic errors when completing the questionnaires can be detected rapidly in the initial stages, which facilitates their correction.
The initial stage for processing the survey information coincides in time with the actual fieldwork, and is carried out in parallel with the collection, during the entire duration thereof. The main purpose is to establish quality levels that are high enough to enable a correct and adequate recording of the questionnaires, and that significantly simplify the subsequent information processing. The recording of the information that appears in the completed questionnaires is carried out by establishing the control rules necessary for guaranteeing an adequate quality level throughout the process, detecting possible coverage errors and non-response.
Once the survey file is created, tasks are carried out for the errors and inconsistencies in the identification variables of each record to be detected and filtered; subsequently, different phases of content error filtering and imputation are carried out. Once the different sequential phases of the filtering are complete, the tables are obtained and the analyses performed to detect values outside of the bracket and evident errors, and to compare the results obtained with the available external sources.
No seasonal adjustments are carried out