By Stephen Peter
The allotment gardeners in the capital can breathe a sigh of relief: they are currently not threatened with a watering ban! At least that’s what Christoph Donner (53), CEO of Berliner Wasserbetriebe, promises.
Great heat and no rain for days – that’s why state politicians are discussing an emergency plan for drinking water, and do not even rule out rationing. However, restrictions for pipits to water their beds are currently not necessary. “It’s not up for discussion at the moment,” Donner told the BZ
Berlin’s top water boss doesn’t even think about turning off fountains! As long as there is no waste in the systems, the wells will continue to be operated. “Because they also have a certain effect, the fountains are also partly a cooling zone,” emphasizes Donner. What he means by that: Ponds, fountains and water features stimulate air circulation, thereby cooling the city down on hot days.
Nevertheless: Berlin is struggling with water shortages. In 2022 there was only 68 percent of the average rainfall! Result: “We have a groundwater level that has dropped by up to 75 centimeters! In order to catch up, we need an average of 600 millimeters of precipitation per year for four years,” says Donner.
No need to panic about water
There is no reason to panic: “We have a very good, robust model.” The water companies want to expand well capacities, for example, and invest six billion euros by 2031. “We should be very careful with water.”
The calls to save are having an effect: water consumption per person in the capital has fallen from 115 to 113 liters per day. A total of 812,000 cubic meters are consumed per day. “But that’s not the peak load, we can give up to a million cubic meters.”
The German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW) also doesn’t believe in hysteria:
“In contrast to other countries, even within Europe, drinking water is always available to people in the best quality here. Even several summers with record heat and drought have not changed that,” said DVGW boss Rolf Merkel (56).
Even dry periods and droughts did not change the principle: “The amount of water available in Germany remains the same.”