Karlsruhe (dpa/lsw) – After weeks of largely rainless periods, the rivers and lakes in Baden-Württemberg have had less water than they have for many years. Without further precipitation, numerous bodies of water in Baden-Württemberg will approach low records in the coming days, as can be seen from the current figures from the Baden-Württemberg State Institute for the Environment (LUBW) in Karlsruhe on Monday. The experts spoke of an “extraordinary low water situation in the country”. The water levels on the Rhine, Neckar and Danube are mostly below the lowest water level in an average year.
Such a so-called mean low water is currently being measured at around 80 percent of the gauges in the country due to the persistent drought. Both small and medium-sized watercourses in the country and the large rivers are affected. In mid-July, the proportion of levels with low water was still 70 percent according to LUBW information.
It doesn’t look any better on Lake Constance: the water level at the Konstanz gauge was 316 centimeters on Monday, which is around 90 centimeters less than usual for the time of year. According to the LUBW, there were fewer on August 8th at the Konstanz gauge in 2003. “With the current water level, the lake level is at a level that is usually not reached until the second half of October,” say the experts at the state institute.
