First the good news: it has finally rained in February-March in Central Europe. The soil has received much of the moisture it needs.
Then the bad news: there is still clearly less groundwater than usual. For example, in France, 80 percent of groundwater deposits have a lower than normal level, geological research center BRGM warn (you switch to another service).
Central Europe may experience an even worse drought than last year in the coming summer.
Murheenkryn: Alpine snow
In winter, there was news about a heat wave that melted the snow in the ski resorts of the Alps. There was alarmingly little snow, which indicates a drought at the end of the year.
The snow melting peak in the spring is important for groundwater replenishment.
Several large rivers in Europe originate in the Alps. The snow situation in the mountains directly affects the amount of water carried by the rivers in the spring.
When the summers in Southern Europe are also drying up, climate change threatens to make water so scarce in places that it is wanted to optimize its use to avoid conflicts.
In Germany (you switch to another service) and in France, governments have introduced water plans recently. in France let’s talk (you switch to another service) even about preventing a threatening “water war”. In Spain, the government decided (you switch to another service) of the emergency program for drought-stricken agriculture two weeks ago.
The basic question is who gets water – how different user groups such as households, agriculture, industry or energy plants are treated if a water shortage threatens.
Concrete is being dismantled, green roofs are being built
In Germany, the government recently approved the country’s first national water strategy (you switch to another service). It is supposed to secure the water supply in the coming decades in different parts of the country.
In the climate crisis, we must learn to save water, and cities and regions will have to adapt to drier conditions permanently, Minister of the Environment Steffi Lemke said (you switch to another service) when presenting the package.
The importance of the water system was experienced last summer, when the mercury rose to over 40 degrees, and the rivers and fields dried up. Both animals, plants and people suffer.
The “water strategies” of Germany and France contain a large number of measures. Citizens are going to be given instructions on how to act in a water shortage.
The purpose is to recycle water better, pump seawater and remove salt from it, make water use more efficient, improve water reserves and so on.
Landscapes change
In Germany, there are plans to rehabilitate forests and green areas with low oxygen. Concreted areas are dismantled so that the water can be absorbed better. Trees are planted at the edge of the fields to bind water.
Cities are turned into “mushroom cities”, that is, water reserves are also created in populated areas. In Sienikaupunki, the streets are more permeable to water, and the water does not run into the drains in streams thanks to the green roofs.
Watch the video to see the significance of the Rhine River for the German economy:
Germany’s water resources will be sufficient as long as the water supply can be adapted to climate change, Minister Lemke estimates.
Regional differences are large. In recent years, severe water shortages have been suffered above all in northeastern Germany, while it has been easier in the southeast. In the future, it will be possible to run long water pipes from rainier areas to dry areas.
Environmental experts have been calling for years for the federal government to develop a strategy to combat future droughts.
Nuclear power plants need water
Sectors that use a lot of water, such as industry and energy production, have not liked the idea that water should be saved.
For example, nuclear power plants consume huge amounts of water for cooling. A lot of groundwater is also consumed in open pit mines.
If next summer turns out to be hot and dry, France will no longer have the same water reserves it had last year.
Due to the heat, the country had to shut down nuclear power plants, which need cooling water from rivers and the sea. During the shutdown of nuclear power last summer, river vegetation and animals were also protected from the additional heat caused by the cooling waters.
Water will become more expensive
President Emmanuel Macron presented on Thursday (you will switch to another service) The 53-item action list for the future water supply. The place was symbolic: the shore rock of the largest freshwater basin in Western Europe, the Serre-Ponçon. The artificial lake suffers badly from drought.
France plans to reduce fresh water consumption by ten percent over the next seven years. Last summer, drinking water had to be transported by tank trucks to hundreds of municipalities.
The main focus of the plans is on saving water. France regulates car washing, filling and building swimming pools in dry seasons, and increases water recycling, i.e. reuse.
The water consumption of nuclear power plants is also planned to be reduced and in the future they will be built by the sea instead of river banks.
Progressive water charges have already been introduced in some French cities.
In the beginning, you can get water at a normal price, and when the household exceeds certain cubic quantities in water consumption, it has to pay more and more for them.
Macron wants to implement this same principle throughout the country.
Does the increase in dry seasons make you think? You can discuss the topic until Saturday, April 1. until 11 p.m.
This Areena documentary tells how the drought is changing European life:
Corrected text on March 31, 2023 at 15:17: The text originally said that the groundwater level in France would be 80 percent lower than normal. The correct design is that there is a lower than normal level in 80 percent of the groundwater.
More on the subject:
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Several European countries are suffering from a water shortage and there is no relief in sight – the current drought could be the worst in 500 years, warns the research institute