It is still very dry in our province, that will not surprise anyone. And that will remain so for the time being. The expected showers that are coming will not solve the problem. The three water boards in Brabant warn against this. To stop the drought in our province, it has to rain a lot for a longer period of time.
Dry ditches and withered lawns: the consequences of the ongoing drought are clearly visible in our province. The effects of the drought can be seen everywhere. Drought coordinator Jos Kruit of the Aa en Maas water board has never experienced it so extreme.
“Normally 60 millimeters of water falls in the Netherlands. Now we see very little precipitation and high temperatures for very long periods. These extremes are getting crazier.”
“Then there will be no more aquatic life.”
That is why it is no longer allowed to spray in many areas for a long time. This summer, the water boards also asked to be economical with tap water. Because when it is dry for that long, more water evaporates than rain falls.
And that in turn has major consequences for the water system. “The groundwater sinks very deeply. Then ditches and streams dry up and there is no more aquatic life.”
“What we need now is that it will rain continuously and a lot.”
At Heusden there are even cracks in the dikes due to the extreme drought. And so, according to Kruit, it is high time that it started to rain heavily. “What we need now is that it will rain continuously and a lot. There must be more rain than we normally expect for this period, so that we can replenish the groundwater. Then we can handle the drought next year. We have also been able to enjoy ourselves.” of the nice weather, now we could use some rain.”
This year will not go down in the books as the driest ever. The years 2018, 2019 and 2020 were even drier. 1976 was the driest year ever recorded.
It seems the weather gods have heard Krus’ pleas. Heavy showers are expected in the province for the next few days. But it is probably just a drop in the ocean for the time being.
