On Wednesday 14 June 2023, due to high temperatures and weather forecasts, the Luxembourg Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development and the Water Management Administration called on Luxembourg residents to monitor their use of drinking water to avoid any waste of it.
The ministry stressed that every gesture counts and contributes to guaranteeing the supply of drinking water throughout the summer.
Even though Luxembourg had a fairly rainy spring, groundwater recharge during the winter months was down 30% compared to the previous period. The extremely dry summer of 2022 resulted in dried out soil that first had to soak up rainwater before it could reach groundwater. Consequently, the actual charging started late in January 2023 and not in November 2022. Moreover, it was interrupted by a sunny month of February. The rain of March 2023 came too late as nature had already awoken and absorbed the rainwater. Climate change will reinforce this phenomenon in the future. It is therefore important to take the right steps now to preserve water resources:
- Avoid watering the lawn with potable water. It will turn green again with the next rainfall.
- Water the plants and flowers in the early morning or after sunset. Use rainwater for watering.
- Wash the car in a car wash. They have closed circuits that reuse water.
- Favour public pools to private pools. If many households simultaneously fill their swimming pools, this peak in consumption can lead to a shortage of drinking water.
- Favour a short shower to a bath. Turn off the water during soaping.
- Run the washing machine and dishwasher when full.
In addition, the authorities are asking citizens not to take unauthorised samples from surface water. The survival of aquatic organisms depends on it.
