Berlin water crisis: High Bettina brings alarming data!

Berlin water crisis: High Bettina brings alarming data!

Berlin, Deutschland - in Berlin is the water crisis in full swing and ensures increasing concern. According to the Berlin waterworks, drinking water consumption has risen in the past few days. With a whopping 880,000 cubic meters that have been fed into the network, the consumption is well above the normal value of 600,000 cubic meters on average, as reported. The heat, due to high "Bettina", with temperatures of up to 37 degrees in the shade, caused people in Berlin to drink more and irrigate their gardens more intensively. But this colorful summer activity also has its dark side: it leads to an increase in the amount of wastewater and the amount of clear water, which is led into water such as the Spree and the Tegeler See.

An alarming topic in this debate are the medication residues and PFAs that are increasingly getting into the groundwater. Verena Fehlenberg from the Bund Berlin emphasizes that the groundwater removal already exceeds the replica. A current report shows that all groundwater bodies in the capital are under considerable stress, especially in the southeast. The Spree also has to struggle with less water - in May only half of the usual water volume flowed. With the end of the brown coal mining in 2038, the situation will continue to worsen, because then less water flows into the river.

global challenges

But the Berlin situation is only part of a much bigger problem. According to a new study by the ISOE-Institute for Social-E-Ecological research, which was commissioned by the Expert Commission Research and Innovation worldwide. The study names climate change as one of the main causes of increasing water shortages and extreme weather events. Experts warn that clean water and high water quality are more at risk than ever. A decrease in water availability was found in Germany in particular; Only 9% of the surface waters currently achieve good ecological standards.

local and global solutions

The Berlin water operations are based on a double strategy: wastewater filtering and reduction in water consumption are high on the agenda. Politically, various measures are currently being discussed, including the expensive transition of water from the Elbe into the Spree, as well as the use of Dachebausen as a water reservoir. The Greens also require a faster implementation of the 32 measures in the "Master Plan Water" and increased care of small -scale water.

The global context shows that coping with the hydropower can not only be limited to municipal strategies, but also requires international cooperation. The need is urgent, such as the reports about water shortage clarify: an ambitious action to reduce the climate, the protection of endangered ecosystems and a future-oriented Water management is crucial to combat the progressive shortage of water in the long term. Sustainable handling of the water resources can only be guaranteed through joint efforts.