Baden-Baden (dpa/lsw) – Because of the low water levels, people in the urban district of Baden-Baden should not take any stream water – for example to water their gardens, fields and lawns. The city of Baden-Baden announced on Tuesday that if the drought and low water levels persisted, even small water withdrawals could have an impact on the water ecology and worsen the living conditions for fish and other small creatures. If running waters do not have enough water, algae can grow more and the oxygen content in the water can decrease.

According to the information, the water level of the Black Forest river Oos continues to decline and was recently well below the long-term average. Even smaller bodies of water in the city district carry little water.

The district of Ortenau had previously banned pumping water from rivers and streams to irrigate agricultural land and home gardens.