Water for Lusatia — Nabu Criticizes Focus on Water from the Elbe River

In light of the looming water crisis facing Lusatia and Berlin, the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union of Germany (NABU) is calling for further studies. The reason is that phasing out lignite will effectively cut off the water supply to the Spree River. This is because, to keep the open-pit mines dry, massive amounts of groundwater have been pumped out and discharged into the Spree River until now.

Berlin fears for its water supply; Brandenburg fears for the Spreewald

“While Berlin fears for its drinking water supply, Brandenburg fears the loss of the UNESCO designation for the Spreewald, and Saxony faces the challenge of filling the open-pit mining pits and replenishing the groundwater deficit caused by open-pit mining,” wrote the NABU state chapters of Berlin, Brandenburg, and Saxony in a letter to the relevant ministries in their respective states.

Conservationists consider technical solutions ineffective

A study by the Federal Environment Agency on the consequences of the coal phase-out for the water balance in Lusatia is focusing on the diversion of water from other river basins, according to the report. An inter-state working group has commissioned a series of studies and is examining technical solutions such as diverting water from the Elbe to the Spree, while “nature-based approaches” remain largely ignored.

Utilizing the soil’s natural water storage capacity

“The justification given is that nature-based solutions do not have sufficient potential. This statement is surprising,” stated NABU. After all, such approaches make use of natural processes. For example, to utilize the soil’s natural water storage capacity, water is specifically retained in the landscape during periods of heavy precipitation or natural flooding. “This fills the soil’s pore volume and the aquifers, which then release the water again during drier seasons.”

The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union of Germany (NABU) believes a study is necessary to examine the natural water storage capacity in the Spree River basin and evaporation in the area of the open-pit mining pits.