Water shortage could cut the Rhine in half

 

Jonas Cullberg/TT

 

Published 12.44

  

Water levels at the German town of Kaub – a bottleneck for traffic on the Rhine – are at record lows. Photo: Michael Probst/AP/TT

Low water levels and a lack of rain could cut the Rhine in two. Shipping on the middle section of one of Europe's largest rivers may have to be stopped, the German shipping association BDB told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

Water levels at the measuring station at the German town of Kaub, a bottleneck for shipping along the Rhine, are expected to drop to single-digit levels for the first time due to a lack of rain.

“Commercial shipping will no longer be able to transport goods in the region with such low water levels,” BDB CEO Jens Schwanen told the Rheinische Post.

“In principle, the Rhine will no longer be navigable along its entire length, and will thus be divided in two,” he explains.

The possibilities of increasing truck and train transport on the route are now being looked at.

Harvests threatened

The Po – Italy’s longest river – is also affected by persistent drought and a series of heat waves. Low water levels are causing salt water to penetrate more than 20 to 25 kilometers into the delta at the river’s mouth. This means that the water has become too salty to be used for irrigating agricultural land. Irrigation has been partially stopped and harvests are threatened, reports the APA news agency. The water shortage in the entire Po catchment area is classified as “high.”

Reducing electricity consumption

In the Danube, by far the largest river in the EU, low water levels have forced countries that depend on the watercourse to take drastic measures. In Hungary, the government has asked industries in the country to reduce electricity consumption because the country's only nuclear power plant, Paks south of Budapest, has drastically cut production due to record low water levels in the Danube.

In neighboring Romania, part of a canal was blown up in early August to redirect water so that the Cernavoda nuclear power plant would not have to be completely shut down.

Facts

Europe's largest rivers

In terms of water flow, Europe's largest river is called the Volga, but it only flows through Russia.

For the rest of Europe, the Danube and the Rhine are first and second. The Danube flows through or along the border of Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine in turn.

The Rhine flows from the Alps to the North Sea. It partially forms the border between Germany and Switzerland, and between Germany and France. It also flows in or near the Netherlands and Liechtenstein.

The water flow in the large rivers normally amounts to several thousand cubic meters every second.