2023-04-18 05:42:17
The groundwater level is sinking, the demand for water is increasing. There is a well-developed supply network, but potential problems with domestic well systems.
Drinkable tap water, which runs crystal clear from the tap, is a matter of course in Austria. But with the climate crisis, there are also increasing problems in the supply, for example when domestic wells run dry. A study by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture does not see any danger for the nationwide drinking water supply, but measures to secure the water supply must still be taken.
The water that people and animals drink in Austria, that is used to wash cars, water gardens and fields, fill pools and that is used by industry for cooling purposes is completely covered by groundwater. 58 percent of this water occurs naturally and is captured as springs. The rest does not come out of the ground by itself and is pumped through wells. The majority of the population, namely 92 percent, obtains its water from the approximately 81,000 km long mains network of the central water supply systems. The remaining eight percent have their own wells or springs. This division is subject to regional topographical differences. At 28 percent, there are the most domestic wells in Upper Austria.
There are problems in the hunchbacked world
Above all, remote households and mountain farms in the urban sprawl of the Alps are responsible for their own water supply. In the Bucklige Welt in the south of Lower Austria, for example, the water supply is sometimes a problem. The nine municipalities of Bad Schönau, Bromberg, Edlitz, Grimmenstein, Hollenthon, Krumbach, Lichtenegg, Thomasberg and Wiesmath have therefore launched the “Bucklige Welt drinking water safety” project and laid around 70 kilometers of additional water pipes from 2019 to 2021. “You can see this as a second pillar for the communities, because now it is also possible to connect remote farms,” says Josef Freiler, ex-ÖVP mayor of Krumbach and chairman of the association. He sees the 7.3 million euros as a good investment, because otherwise the capacities for their supply would have been too small.
A similar strategy is now being pursued in the district of Wolfsberg in Carinthian Lavanttal, one of the driest regions in Austria. There, the 500-kilometer-long supply network is to be optimized and expanded to include a 21-kilometer-long line from the Jauntal. Ultimately, this line is intended to ensure the supply of the remote farms, which will have to be supplied with water once more this spring by the fire brigade.
Markus Godez, head of the Wolfsberg waterworks, is seeing an increasing number of inquiries from farms where their own water supply is no longer working. He estimates that the fire department’s water service will continue until the beginning of May. “Even the rains of the past week have not changed the situation. First the soil has to thaw, then the water has to seep through before it finally reaches the groundwater,” notes Godez. By the end of March, the fire brigade had already pumped 1.4 million liters into the dried-up wells in the Wolfsberg, St. Veit and Völkermarkt districts. Last year almost 11.5 million liters even flowed through the tankers, according to Oskar Grabner, branch manager of the Carinthian State Fire Brigade Association. He fears “that if the drought persists, the problem of water shortages will persist.”
Resources will decrease by around 23 percent by 2050
However, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (BML) does not see any problems with the water supply in the future. However, according to a scenario in the “Water Treasure Austria” study published in 2021, water resources are expected to decrease by around 23 percent by 2050. The sinking groundwater level is opposed to an increasing demand for water. This is largely due to the fact that agricultural production areas have to be irrigated more when temperatures are higher and rainfall is low, and partly to the increase in population and the greater consumption of humans and animals on hot days. Experts have therefore been recommending for some time to slow down the sealing of the soil and to unseal areas so that the rainwater can seep away on site. This would contribute significantly to groundwater recharge.
Many scientists agree that we will have to be prepared for rising temperatures. In addition to higher water consumption, this is accompanied by higher evaporation, faster melting of the glaciers and an increased potential for severe weather. However, there are no reliable forecasts for future precipitation. However, everything indicates that there will be more rainfall in the winter months instead of a white blanket of snow and that precipitation will fall more frequently than heavy rain in the warm months. “Thunderstorms are local, they don’t help much here,” says Andreas Mansberger from Geosphere Austria (formerly ZAMG). In the regions in Austria affected by the drought, which, in addition to the Lavanttal, mainly includes the east of Austria, there is a massive groundwater deficit.
“The problem lies in the previous years, most of the months back to winter 2020/21 are below average. So much deficit has accumulated that there should be constantly above-average rainfall in the next few months.” But the meteorologist, who is rather cautious with forecasts, considers this scenario to be less likely. The amount of rain that has recently fallen, especially in eastern and upper Austria, can mitigate the drought, but not fix it, says his colleague Alexander Orlik on orf.at. This is most evident at Lake Neusiedl. Its water level has risen by eight centimeters in four days, but the mean water level is still 51 centimeters short.
Water supply for 92 percent of the people no problem
For the 92 percent of the population who are connected to a supply network, the supply of drinking water will actually not be a problem in the future, says Georg Amschl from the Austrian Association for Gas and Water (OVGW). Even if sources dry up, the water suppliers are always secured via several source locations and connecting lines to other water networks. The situation with remote mountain farms is more problematic. “Yes, wells can dry up. These are natural phenomena. Sometimes you can drill deeper, sometimes the maximum has been reached,” says Amschl. For economic and hygienic reasons, very remote farmsteads can usually not be connected to the grid, so from his point of view it is possible that isolated farmsteads would have to be abandoned due to a lack of water. Those farms that are currently affected in the Lavanttal will be supplied with water transports until further notice. Fireman Grabner assured that this would be done “as long as no rain improves the situation and no lines have been built”.
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