 likely to continue but with dynamic shifts and INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 © OECD 2006 5. THE IMPACTS OF CHANGE ON THE LONG-TERM FUTURE DEMAND FOR WATER SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE partnering across and within service groups. There is strong evidence of multi-utility presence in many EU countries, with perhaps fewer and fewer major players in the water market over time. Reconciling the delivery of the Water Framework Directive with the need to better engage stakeholders and also to ensure that they pay the full economic cost for water services - and within a very short timescale (2015-17) - will be challenging for Europe and inevitably allow more of the experienced and larger private companies to engage in the market and operational opportunities. The needs to upgrade water infrastructure are the greatest in the newest European countries, but it is also in these countries that the economic challenges are likely to be greatest (Fankhauser and Tepic, 2005). The Watertime project provides an illustration of the changing water consumption patterns for some of the European cities investigated, as shown in Annex Figure 5.A1.1. These results are believed to be an underestimate of the actual water usage. Several reasons are given for the general decline in consumption since the 1990s: the energy crisis in the 1970s and charging for sewage treatment linked to it; the decline in industries using centrally supplied water; general water efficiency awareness and drive; and metering. Forms of revenue raising are also crucial for meeting demands for water- related services. In some countries water services are provided using revenues from general or local taxation, whereas in others it is the "customer" who is directly charged for the water used. Where properties are metered there should be a greater awareness of the need to conserve water (although not for the wealthiest), yet evidence suggests that typically less than 10% of demand can be cut by retrofitting water met