News Drought
Minister declares 'de facto water shortage'
At the moment, more water is being used in the Netherlands than comes in via rain and the rivers. That doesn't seem to change in the coming weeks. That is why Mark Harbers, Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management has today scaled up the National Coordination Committee for Water Distribution to level 2 and there is an 'actual water shortage'.
In concrete terms, scaling up the water shortage to level 2 has no direct consequences for agriculture. Several water boards in the south and east of the country have already introduced irrigation bans for irrigation from surface water. If the drought continues, it is quite conceivable that more water boards will implement such a ban.
National direction
Due to the water shortage, the minister decided today to coordinate the water distribution from the Water Shortage Management Team in the coming weeks. They are preparing possible national and supraregional measures to keep the water supply as optimal as possible. That is not necessary at the moment, but that could change in the coming weeks, according to Harbers.
To control the distribution of the water, the ministry uses a displacement series. Drought-sensitive flood defenses and nature and peat areas where irreversible damage would result from drought have the highest priority, followed by drinking water and energy supplies. This is followed by small-scale high-quality use, such as for the temporary irrigation of capital-intensive crops (for example orchards) and process water. Agriculture, shipping and industry come in last place.
Jurphaas Lugtenburg
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