The Netherlands officially declared this Wednesday “water scarcity” in the “land of water” due to the drought that has plagued them for several weeks and while Europe is affected by a heat wave.
Dutch authorities have already imposed limits on farming and shipping, and warned in a statement that new measures were being considered to conserve water in this dry spell.
The country is protected from water by a famous system of dams, dikes and canals, but with around a third of its surface below sea level, it remains particularly vulnerable to climate change.
“The Netherlands is a land of water, but here too our water is precious,” said Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers.
Potable water supply
The drought is expected to “continue for some time”, the government warned, while assuring that a sufficient amount of drinking water is and continues to be available.
Parts of the Netherlands, the world’s second largest agricultural exporter after the United States, have already banned farmers from irrigating their crops with surface water. Some canal locks have been closed for navigation.
Priority would now be given to the safety of the Dutch dike system, then to the supply of drinking water and energy, according to the government. The drought was “becoming more and more visible in nature,” added Mark Harbers.
“That’s why I ask all Dutch people to think carefully before deciding whether to wash their car or completely fill their inflatable pool,” he called.
The last official water cuts were declared in 2018 and 2011 in the Netherlands. Last July, the country recorded its third highest temperature since records began, at 39.4 °C. A month earlier it had suffered its first deadly tornado in 30 years.
Source: BFM TV
