Germany needs crisis taskforce for low water levels, says state transport minister

Germany needs a crisis task force to respond to record-low water levels across the Rhine and Danube rivers, Oliver Krischer, transport minister in North Rhine-Westphalia, told news agency dpa. The rivers are the country’s most important shipping waterways, transporting goods for industry, yet vessels struggle to navigate the shallower waters with their usual cargo loads. 

This is taking a toll on the economy and transport ministers need to act urgently, Krischer told dpa, as reported by Der Spiegel. He called for funding to widen navigation channels, which should make sections of the river more navigable even during periods of low water, and said the issue should be discussed at the upcoming German transport ministers' meeting this week. “We need a national task force in the short term to implement measures to improve the transport situation,” Krischer said. 

Germany’s transport ministry recently published a report on the market prospects for river transport over the next decades, saying waterways could play a key role in decarbonising the country’s transport sector.

However, drought conditions, and changes in precipitation patterns caused by climate change have led to multiple instances of record low water levels across Germany’s most important shipping routes in recent years. Water levels are currently too low for ships to travel fully loaded, affecting the transport of industrial goods by requiring vessels to sail only partially loaded and forcing them to spread cargo over multiple vessels, increasing costs.

A new low-water monitoring system is set to provide local authorities, companies and citizens with real-time information on water supply and potential shortages. Information on groundwater and river levels, precipitation and soil moisture had so far only been available in regionally fragmented and non-standardised datasets. 

Many cities and municipalities across Germany imposed water-use restrictions in mid-July, following months of low precipitation and an unprecedented heat wave in June across large parts of Europe. Germany’s meteorological service DWD called the event a “watershed” moment for Germany, which must now prepare for climatic stress situations similar to those in Mediterranean countries.