More and more Saxon rivers are heading for low water

Water levels are falling on Saxony's rivers. Almost 30 percent of the water levels in all river basins are currently in the low water range, as Karin Bernhardt from the State Office for Environment, Agriculture and Geology (LfULG) reported on request. "Another 33 percent are heading strongly towards the low water mark."

According to this, the water levels and flow rates at the river gauges are at a similarly low level as in June of the extreme dry years 2018, 2019 and 2020. "The low water situation will tend to become more pronounced. This is due to the fact that rivers are primarily fed by groundwater at times when there is little or no rainfall," emphasized Bernhardt.

The Saxon Association for the Environment and Nature Conservation called for decisive action. If bodies of water dry up, habitats are lost, and not just for amphibians such as the fire salamander, according to Felix Ekardt, head of BUND in Saxony. "Fish and many insects whose larvae grow up in streams are also at risk. In contrast, water-rich biotopes are both good for biodiversity and good at binding greenhouse gases to combat climate change."

Renaturalization projects for water bodies must therefore be carried out quickly and easily with sufficient financial support from local authorities. According to BUND, this includes measures to increase the ecological continuity of bodies of water to enable animals to find more suitable sections of water.