Water withdrawal ban in the Altmarkkreis: What consequences for the green oasis?

Water withdrawal ban in the Altmarkkreis: What consequences for the green oasis?

In the coming months, residents in the Altmarkkreis Salzwedel will be faced with drastic measures to withdraw water. From Monday, June 23rd, there will be a strict ban on water withdrawals, which will extend through the summer period and last until the end of September or until further notice. This regulation affects both the irrigation of public and private green spaces as well as sports facilities such as lawns, tennis courts and riding fields AZ Online reported.

The ban also includes water withdrawals from private garden wells and surface water bodies. The background is the climatic conditions of recent years, which have led to a drastic decline in groundwater levels. The period between 2018 and 2022 was characterized by years of low rainfall. Even if the water levels rose slightly due to the winter floods of 2023/2024, a further decline is expected in the coming months.

Impact on the local sports landscape

Local sports clubs are also affected by these measures. Eintracht Salzwedel, a regional football club, has already reacted to the new situation and is watering its pitches at night between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. This could help mitigate the immediate impact of the ban. In contrast, the TC Salzwedel tennis club may also need to water at night to keep the courts in an acceptable condition before games.

The Werner Seelenbinder Stadium, which is currently being renovated, has the advantage that the new artificial turf pitch temporarily does not require water, so only the natural grass areas are affected. The measures introduced in Salzwedel are not the only response to the challenges caused by drought. This is also the case in Brandenburg n-tv states in a report that the abstraction of water from surface waters is prohibited from June 22, 2023 to September 30, 2023. This applies, among other things, to pumping or diverting water from lakes and rivers.

Climate change and water availability

The background to these developments is an alarming trend: climate change has a direct impact on water availability in Germany. Projects like that of Federal Environment Agency show that the dryness and drought in recent years are endangering the available water resource. Studies address water availability and water use conflicts caused by climate change.

In order to deal with the situation, solution strategies are being developed to avoid conflicts of use, whereby the possibilities of water reuse for irrigation in urban areas are also taken into account. The focus is on securing water resources in the long term so that both the population and nature in our region can continue to thrive in the future.