Peine district imposes water irrigation ban – drought remains a threat!

Peine district imposes water irrigation ban – drought remains a threat!

There are great concerns about the groundwater level in the Peine district because the ongoing drought means that the values ​​have reached a historically low level. Low rainfall and high temperatures have caused the groundwater level to fall below the long-term average. This was stipulated in today's general order, which will come into force from tomorrow, reported regionalheute.de.

The Peine district has now taken measures to counteract this worrying situation. From now on, irrigation of both public and private green spaces is prohibited daily from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at temperatures above 24 degrees Celsius. This applies not only to parks, but also to gardens and sports facilities such as football pitches, tennis courts and golf courses. The restrictions also apply to water withdrawals from wells and surface waters as well as to water permits that have already been issued.

Water saving measures are necessary

The district also appeals to citizens not to use water from the public drinking water network to irrigate private green spaces or fill pools between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. The general order is valid until September 30th and can be found on the Peine district website under “Current News”. These measures are an urgent step to prevent or slow down the further decline in groundwater levels.

The groundwater table plays a role that should not be underestimated for agriculture and the ecosystem as a whole. This important resource, also known as the groundwater line or level, is highly dependent on rainfall. Permanent decline can not only affect plant growth, but also lead to dangerous consequences such as forest dieback and drought damage, according to information from Wikipedia emerges.

Climate change as a challenge

What is particularly worrying is that groundwater levels in Lower Saxony have been declining regionally over the last two decades, which, according to the final report of the KliBiW Phase 7 research project, published in December 2023, is due to climatic changes. The dry years since 2018 have caused the largest subsidence since records began. Future developments could continue, even without increased human extraction of groundwater, if climate action is not stepped up, like this NLWKN communicates.

The analysis of the weather conditions expected in the future shows longer phases with low groundwater levels in summer as well as the possibility of dry phases lasting several years. These developments pose major challenges for both the environment and water supplies. The report and its results are also available for download on the NLWKN website.

Overall, it is urgently necessary to implement sustainable water saving measures in order to protect the valuable resource groundwater. Jennagen, nature needs our gentle touch in order to continue to thrive in the future!