Groundwater levels in Germany are currently at a 30-year low and this trend doesn’t appear to be coming to an end any time soon. We know this based on regularly collected data from thousands of monitoring wells across Germany, and it ironically goes hand in hand with the increasing thirst of consumers, agriculture and industry.

How can society protect water and at the same time satisfy the needs of the users without constantly struggling with its distribution? The National Water Strategy adopted by the German government in spring provides some initial answers, but a solution will not be possible without fundamentally rethinking how we use water.

© Robert Schimke/Fakt ist!

This was confirmed by the guests invited to the MDR program “Fakt ist!” on June 26. Prof. Andreas Hartmann, Chair of Groundwater Systems at the Institute of Groundwater Management of TU Dresden, posits that two things are necessary: First of all, we need a secure data basis, and second, we need incentives to save water or use water more efficiently.

“To ascertain which measures work and how, we first need a secure data basis and, above all, transregional simulation models that can estimate the effects of water-saving measures on all of our surface and groundwater resources in Saxony and central Germany. We currently lack sufficient knowledge as to what happens under certain conditions and how things interact to ensure safe and efficient use of our water resources in the future.”

As the groundwater level continues to drop, we quickly need to come up with incentives to use water more carefully. The fact that in three German states, companies do not have to pay for water use or even declare how much they use is only part of the problem. In Saxony, this practice was abolished last year. Nevertheless, industries should keep a closer eye on the use of process water, rainwater and closed water cycles. “To give just one example: The extremely water-intensive semiconductor industry also exists in much drier locations. So it is demonstrably possible to use less water if laws and policies encourage it,” says Hartmann.

In his research, Hartmann already uses transregional models to estimate the future availability of water resources and the uncertainties of large-scale water balance calculations. “We have begun to apply these approaches to Saxony in the form of final theses, but scientific staff and financial support are crucial in producing reliable results.”

The full program can be accessed in the MDR media center: MDR program | "FAKT IST!" from Dresden on June 26, 2023, 10:10 pm: Between drought and downpour: Who is in charge of the water?

On July 16, Prof. Hartmann will be visiting the Botanical Garden of TU Dresden. As part of our series „Meet the luminaries under the conifer - groundwater and forest“ he will be talking about the effects the climate crisis could have on our groundwater, the quality of the drinking water in Dresden and the role of the moors (Heide) in Dresden.

Contact person:
Prof. Andreas Hartmann
Chair of Groundwater Systems
Institute of Groundwater Management
Tel.: +49 351 463-42550