Germany’s rivers under heat stress.
How rising temperatures are changing the Rhine, Moselle and Elbe rivers.
Prolonged periods of drought and high temperatures are causing many rivers to run low and warm significantly. What this means for nature, the economy, and the population.
With the first heat wave at the end of June, record temperatures of almost 30 degrees were reached in the Rhine, Moselle and Elbe rivers, and water levels dropped dramatically, leading to major restrictions in shipping traffic. (…)
Low water levels can strain drinking water supplies
Extremely low water levels can also pose problems for drinking water supplies if discharges from industry and wastewater treatment plants are not reduced. The concentration of pollutants, bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms then increases.
«Every pollutant entry avoided is an investment in safe and affordable drinking water.»
Henry Tünte, German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND)
In many places, drinking water comes from bank filtrate: it is extracted from wells near rivers or lakes and contains a large proportion of water from these bodies of water. However, this could become a problem, warns Henry Tünte from the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND).
Full article on zdf heute (German) or in Google English
