Water shortage threatens Baden-Württemberg: Master plan should save!

Water shortage threatens Baden-Württemberg: Master plan should save!

Thekla, Deutschland - In Baden-Württemberg, concern for increasing water shortages increases. Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann commented after the meeting of the Council of Ministers in order to point out the serious effects of the global heating on humans and nature as well as water supply. The groundwater stocks and river level have dropped sharply after a long dry period. The water withdrawal is currently not permitted everywhere, and further tightening of the water shortage in the future is to be expected.

The state government reacts to this worrying development with the introduction of the Water supply master plan. This project, which is unique in Germany, aims to react to the water shortage with a forward and planned manner and takes place in close cooperation with the municipalities. Environment Minister Thekla Walker emphasizes that lack of water not only threatens an ecological but also social freedom. It refers to the measures in France, where new buildings and agricultural activities are restricted to deal with the scarcity.

master plan and measures

The Water supply master plan is aimed at analyzing the water supply infrastructure in 1,101 municipalities. This extensive analysis will be carried out in five batches by 2026. The current need shows that in about 3 % of the supply areas there is a calculated deficit in medium water consumption. A forecast of 12 % is expected for 2050. Around half of the municipalities will experience bottlenecks during dry periods.

recommendations for action and support

The recommendations for action of the master plan include both the development of new water resources as well as the optimization of technical systems and the adaptation of water and subscription rights. In order to support the municipalities and water suppliers in this situation, the state increases the funding for water supply in the 2025/2026 state budget to just under 64 million euros for 2025 and almost 88 million euros for 2026, compared to only 13 million euros in 2016.

Another important part of the plan is the introduction of a nationwide strategy for urban water resource management, which also supports the development of so -called sponge cities. In the strategy, twelve activities are planned for implementation, which are to be checked for feasibility after their publication. In addition, a water volume balance is created by 2050 to enable well -founded forecasts through future drinking water requirements, especially during heat periods.

The collection of source fillings and groundwater levels as well as the consideration of the large water withdrawals of industry, trade and agriculture are also part of the comprehensive planning in order to put the water supply on a solid basis. A sustainable basis is therefore laid for the municipalities to withstand both current and future challenges.

More details on this topic can be found in the reports of stm.baden-wuerttemberg.de and Um.baden-wuerttemberg.de .