We are experiencing yet another dry summer, with consequences for shipping, nature, agriculture and water management. There is broad consensus on the measures needed to increase water resilience, yet they are often postponed. This increases the risk of damage and shortages during future dry summers. In De Tijd, Marijke Huysmans, Professor of Groundwater Hydrology at VUB and KU Leuven, argues that immediate action is needed.
Summer is not even halfway through, yet the effects of the drought are already mounting. Trees are entering autumn mode prematurely. The Rhine has reached the lowest water level ever recorded. At more than 80 per cent of monitoring points, groundwater levels are low to very low for this time of year. Water abstraction bans, preventing water from being pumped from streams and rivers in certain areas, have once again become necessary, as have restrictions on inland shipping, while potatoes, maize and other crops are desperately in need of water. Once again. As in 2018, 2020 and 2022, nature managers, farmers, drinking water companies and water authorities are hoping for rain to arrive soon before more serious damage occurs or drastic measures become unavoidable.
But waiting for rain is not a strategy. Especially because drought is no longer an exceptional event. Climate change is making drought periods more frequent, longer and more intense. Moreover, drought is increasingly occurring alongside heatwaves, making the atmosphere, soils, plants and crops even thirstier and amplifying its impact. This affects not only agriculture and nature. Industry, inland shipping, energy supply and drinking water production are also likely to face water scarcity more frequently in the decades ahead.
Not a desert
Fortunately, Flanders is not a desert. On an annual basis, there is sufficient rainfall. This means many proactive solutions are possible. By retaining water, allowing it to infiltrate the soil, reusing it and storing it, we can significantly reduce the impact of drought. In addition, Flanders has built up considerable expertise and experience in climate adaptation and water resilience over recent decades.
Through the Sigma Plan, the region has for years been among the international frontrunners in integrated water management. International organisations regularly cite it as an example of how water safety, nature development and climate adaptation can go hand in hand.
With the Blue Deal launched in 2020, Flanders was ahead of the European agenda on water resilience. The programme not only led to investments in circular water use, water conservation, infiltration measures, greening projects, weirs, rainwater harvesting, river restoration, alternative water sources, controlled drainage systems, wetland restoration and the security of drinking water supplies. It also increased awareness and support for robust water systems.
The recent Local Blue Deals call, which brings together local authorities, water managers, farmers, businesses and nature organisations to develop area-based solutions for drought, flooding and water quality, attracted applications from no fewer than 46 coalitions. Together, these candidate coalitions cover approximately half of Flanders.
This strong level of interest demonstrates how great the willingness is to work together on water challenges, even among partners who often find themselves on opposite sides of other debates. Such momentum is worth its weight in gold and deserves support through ambitious investment budgets to implement local action plans.
Damage to nature
Despite the urgency of the issue and the broad support for increasing water resilience, investments in climate adaptation are too often postponed. Most Blue Deal funding is allocated to the final years of the current legislative term. Other organisations and companies are also delaying investments in water security.
This not only increases the risk of further delays if drought conditions ease and other priorities emerge, but also leads to avoidable drought damage and a greater risk of severe water shortages during future dry summers.
The damage suffered by nature and agriculture, and the impact on industry, inland shipping, energy supply and drinking water production during the next dry summer, will depend on how well prepared we are and on the decisions we take today.
Every company that invests now in circular water use, water conservation and alternative water sources becomes less vulnerable to future droughts. Farmers can reduce drought damage through rainwater storage, small weirs and controlled drainage systems. Citizens and local authorities can increase groundwater reserves by creating greener gardens and public squares.
Rainwater infiltration in upstream areas not only strengthens our water reserves but also reduces flood damage. Greater connectivity, source diversification and underground water storage make drinking water supplies far more resilient. If even a fraction of the 800 billion litres of domestic wastewater produced each year were treated to a higher standard, it would open up a wide range of opportunities for reuse in agriculture and industry.
Every construction project that returns as much dewatered groundwater as possible to the subsurface helps protect our water reserves.
A strong signal
The message delivered this spring by the advisory group for river basin management plans sent a strong signal. Farmers’ organisations, environmental groups, businesses, local authorities, the water sector and scientists reached a remarkable consensus: Flanders can no longer afford a business-as-usual approach to water management and water policy.
The water challenges are too great and too urgent to continue tackling them in a fragmented, sector-by-sector way. Such broad agreement is exceptional and underlines how pressing the water challenge has become.
Let this latest dry summer be a turning point for accelerating and expanding investment in a robust water system. Flanders has the knowledge, determination, innovative capacity and committed local partners needed to become a leader in climate adaptation and water resilience.
The next dry summer begins today. The question is whether Flanders will then reap the benefits of the investments in water security that it makes today.