There is no longer a national water shortage, the central government is letting that a press release know. Although there are still many regional differences, there is currently more supply than demand for fresh water. This now moves from the “actual water shortage” risk level to “imminent water shortage.” According to Minister Mark Harbers (VVD, Infrastructure and Water Management), the Water Shortage Management Team will no longer meet due to the scaling down.
In recent months there has been a water shortage in the Netherlands as a result of drought. The Water Boards and Rijkswaterstaat had to take measures to retain more water. Some measures can now be phased out. For example, some locks were no longer allowed to be used for recreational boating and now they are again.
However, this does not mean that there is no longer a drought. In a number of places there are still low river discharges, low groundwater levels and problems with water quality and salinization. That is why a number of measures remain in force in some places, such as restrictions on recreational boating. For the complete recovery from the dry period, nature needs a long period of precipitation.
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The KNMI expects the deficit to decrease further in the coming weeks, Harbers wrote to the House of Representatives. In addition, all parties involved will evaluate the drought crisis. They want to submit a report before April 1, 2023, because the drought season will start again then.