After prolonged drought, there is now an official water shortage in the Netherlands - the government has launched an emergency plan. In the future, a central crisis team will distribute the water supplies. The safety of the dykes and nature conservation have priority, said the responsible Minister for Infrastructure and Water Management, Mark Harbers, on Wednesday in The Hague. If the drought continues, drastic measures will be taken.
The minister assured that there was sufficient drinking water. However, he called on citizens to use water sparingly. “Everyone can contribute. So I ask all Dutch people to think carefully about whether they need to wash their car or fill up the paddling pool completely.” No further measures are necessary, but that could change in the coming weeks.
The reason for the lack of water is the low rainfall, high evaporation and lower inflow of fresh water via rivers from abroad. Special measures have already been taken in several regions. These include spraying bans for farmers.
The safety of the dikes has the highest priority in the distribution of fresh water. They threaten to become unstable due to drought. Almost 60 percent of the Netherlands is protected by dikes, dams and dunes. About 30 percent of the country lies below sea level and is kept dry by dikes and an elaborate system of pumps, canals and mills.
