- The Green Party puts forth a proposal for a substantial billion-dollar investment in water-related legislation.
Saxony's Environment Minister, Wolfram Günther (Green Party), views securing a reliable water supply as a key priority for the upcoming legislative term. "People in Saxony believe water will always be abundant. That needs to continue. But human-influenced climate change means this isn't guaranteed anymore," he told the German Press Agency in Dresden. The dry years since 2018 have underscored this point. "We need to act, we need to invest."
So, the Greens propose a "water billion" for the coming legislative period, translating to billions in water supply investments. "Our aim is to ensure water for people, nature, and economy. We also want to safeguard clean waters and preserve natural river landscapes." Water provision is crucial for business relocation, and without investment, a bottleneck could arise. Günther mentioned Dresden's semiconductor industry, where a river waterworks is planned.
For Günther, preserved nature acts as an insurance policy. In the new term in office, he aims to expedite the conversion of forests, enhance moor protection, and implement measures to improve water quality through an action program.
"We should restore floodplains and restore natural river beds to straightened rivers. This strengthens natural flood protection. It's beneficial for biodiversity. It creates recreational spaces for people." Municipalities should consistently implement "sponge city" concepts and be backed by the State in doing so. The "sponge city" concept essentially involves storing rainwater.
"Water should be as readily available in the future as it is today. To achieve this, we need to invest heavily. If we don't, we may find ourselves in some regions without water due to climate change in the future," the minister emphasized. However, a "water billion" is merely a starting point. The investment requirement is significantly higher.
Only 7% of Saxony's rivers and streams are in good ecological health. "We must address this. And we must rectify the water imbalance in the coal regions. Mining has severely disrupted the water balance there."
Günther: If we don't act, it will be much more costly
"We wise to strategically position Saxony for the future here. It will cost money. If we don't act, it will be much more costly," said Günther. However, he is optimistic that Saxony can tackle the water problem.
In January, Saxony adopted a "Future Water in Saxony" action program. The investment need was then estimated at 1.6 billion euros. According to ministry estimates, at least 500 million euros are needed just to maintain the current status quo of water supply.
The action program is one of Günther's tenures' achievements. He also achieved success in the outgoing legislative period with a significant increase in Saxony's renewable energy. The number of photovoltaic installations more than tripled, and their capacity was doubled. Currently, there are so many wind energy permit applications that they could power the households of Chemnitz, Dresden, and Leipzig. Günther initiated balcony power plants and the repair bonus - financial assistance for consumers to repair their electronic devices. Furthermore, he significantly boosted organic farming.
Günther emphasized the importance of maintaining a reliable water supply, especially in light of human-influenced climate change, stating, "Water should be as readily available in the future as it is today, but we need to invest heavily to achieve this." In support of this, Günther proposed a "water billion" for investments in water supply, acknowledging that this is just a starting point and the actual requirement is significantly higher.
