Environment - Droughts and floods: state wants to prevent them with a master plan
This is about dried-out fields, floods, and access to drinking water: With a "Masterplan Water," Niedersachsen's state government aims to mitigate the consequences of climate change for water supply. Having sufficient water of good quality available at all times and everywhere is no longer self-evident, warned Environment Minister Christian Meyer in Hannover on Thursday. "We're talking about scarcity, which is something new," said the Green politician. This is a paradigm shift.
The access to water is threatened by the climate change, which brings more extreme weather events such as floods on one hand and prolonged dry phases on the other. Meyer spoke of a divide, which is growing apart: sometimes there is too much water, and sometimes there is too little. In total, this results in less usable water.
In Lower Saxony, it is already 1.8 degrees warmer
"The climate crisis has arrived in Lower Saxony," said Meyer. The mean air temperature in Lower Saxony is now approximately 1.8 degrees above the comparison period 1961 to 1990. "We still have plenty of good water, but we need to do something about it."
Exactly what to do is what the Ministry now intends to discuss with water suppliers, municipalities, environmental associations, and agricultural representatives. The draft for the Masterplan includes incentives for water conservation as well as for the greening of sealed areas, such as on roofs.
Meyer proposes higher water prices in summer
One idea of the Minister for more water-efficient use: digital water meters, which would allow for dynamic prices. "If water suppliers say that it costs a little more in the summer and less in the winter, then that would indeed be a good incentive to save," said Meyer. The same system exists for electricity with smart meters as electricity meters.
The AfD criticized the proposal to demand higher water prices in summer to reduce consumption as a farce. It's "climate panic being spread to extract money from people," accused AfD parliamentarian Marcel Queckemeyer of the Minister.
More money for flood protection planned
The Masterplan also intends to expand flood protection, for example, with more retention basins. There should be permanently more money for this: in 2025, according to the budget plan draft, 15 million Euro, from 2026 onwards annually around 10 million Euro. In total, this would be around 250 million Euro.
However, the CDU criticized that the red-green state government would finance the planned Masterplan inadequately. The planned expenditures for flood protection were far behind the required funds. The preliminary damage estimates for the Christmas flood of 2023 were more than 150 million Euro, said CDU parliamentarian Verena Kaemmerling. The reinforcement of all dikes and the construction of seven necessary weirs in the Landkreis Stade alone would cost more than half a billion Euro.
The Farmers' Association Landvolk declared, a forward-looking strategy for water management is essential. "We must prepare ourselves for weather extremes," said Thorsten Riggert from Landvolk. Great significance comes to the water retention in the area in this context. "We will participate in the process, even with innovative proposals. But we will not accept it if the interests of agriculture are not adequately considered and we are only supposed to bear additional burdens," said Riggert.
- The climate crisis in Lower Saxony is leading to more extreme weather events, such as floods and droughts, which pose a threat to drinking water availability.
- Environment Minister Christian Meyer emphasized that the availability of clean drinking water is no longer self-evident and warned of water scarcity as a new challenge.
- The "Masterplan Water" is a new initiative by the Lower Saxony state government to mitigate the consequences of climate change on water supply.
- The Minister proposed digital water meters as a solution to encourage water conservation and implement dynamic water pricing.
- Critics, such as the AfD, accused Meyer of using the climate crisis as a pretext to extract money from people through higher summer water prices.
- To address the rising flood risks, the Masterplan aims to expand flood protection measures, including the construction of retention basins and the allocation of more funding.
- Agricultural associations, like the Farmers' Association Landvolk, stressed the need for a forward-thinking water management strategy that considers the interests of farming and agriculture.
