Climate-adapted water management is essential for Saxony’s future.
“Climate-adapted water management is essential for Saxony’s future. We have to take care of strategies and measures in good time to ensure that the currently secure water supply will remain secure in the future despite the decreasing supply*,” explains Uwe Müller from the Saxon State Office for the Environment, Agriculture and Water Geology. The federal government’s national water strategy is an important building block for this.
*Offer: Hydrological term for available surface and groundwater in an area. (Editor’s note)
Example: Dispute over Tesla water
The shows the challenges that the water supply of large industrial companies is already associated with for the local population Water dispute around the Tesla factory in Brandenburg. There, consumption for private households is already partially capped. At the same time, Tesla plans to further expand the factory. “The fact that the authorities secretly handed over all control to Tesla without informing us or the public is a real scandal,” explains André Bähler, head of the water supplier WSE in January to the magazine “Stern”.
Winter drought in France
The situation in France shows how water shortage can affect the heart of Europe. The rivers didn’t just dry up in the summer, but during a winter drought in February. According to reports, it has not rained for four weeks, and the drinking water supply is at risk in many communities. President Emmanuel Macron is banking on massive savings with a water plan. According to a report by the National Geological Survey (BRGM) in France, the groundwater level is currently below average in three quarters of the areas and in many cases is low to very low. According to the authorities’ fears, large parts of France are facing a second drought summer due to a lack of rain.