From BZ/dpa
Berlin’s water supply is also secured in the future. But the capital needs a common strategy with Brandenburg, said Christoph Donner, CEO of Berliner Wasserbetriebe.
It is also important to prepare for extreme weather conditions. If possible, Berlin should be converted into a so-called sponge city in order to be able to store enough water for periods of drought.
The core of the concept of the sponge city is that precipitation is absorbed and stored on site, for example through hollows or green spaces. The water should then be used again there instead of flowing into the sea via rivers, for example.
According to the suppliers, the water supply is also secured in the rest of the country in the future.
“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 Rolf Merkel, the board member of the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW).
In his assessment, he referred to a study by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig, which contains a forecast up to the year 2100. However, measures would still have to be taken, such as the construction of dams, new storage facilities or transmission systems. In this way, the resilience of the water supply can be increased in critical times.