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Houseboats lie perched on desiccated riverbeds, receding water levels have left wide stretches of newly exposed riverbank and the shipping sector is bracing for trouble. The low-lying Netherlands is used to grappling with too much water; now it’s struggling with too little.
On Thursday, the country declared an official water shortage, raising its national drought response to Level 2. “Due to persistent drought, less water is entering our country via rain and rivers, while the demand for water is rising,” the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said in a statement.
Government bodies and water companies will now assess what is needed to cut use. Measures could include reducing groundwater pumping and operating river locks less frequently, to limit saltwater flowing in. The ministry has stressed that drinking water will not be affected, although it advises people to use it “consciously.”
The situation “is alarming, and I do not say that lightly,” said Hannah Cloke, Regius professor of meteorology and climate science at the University of Reading, in the UK. “The calendar is what worries me most. The Netherlands has declared an actual water shortage in mid-July,” she added. There’s plenty of summer left to run, and the forecasts show little hope of relief for weeks.
