Credit: Pixabay

Luxembourg's Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development and its Water Management Authority (Administration de la gestion de l'eau - AGE) have urged the public to avoid wasting water during the current heatwave.

According to the authorities, tap water consumption is likely to increase significantly over the next few days, as temperatures continue to rise. Experience shows that drinking water consumption increases with rising temperatures and more particularly when temperatures are above 30°C.

Given the weather forecast for the coming days, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development and AGE have reminded the population and the municipalities not to waste tap water and to limit consumption to the most essential needs. The AGE website (www.waasser.lu) provides examples of simple ways to reduce the consumption of drinking water to a minimum.

Moreover, given the current weather conditions, with no significant rainfall, the rivers are approaching the average low water flow, but are currently still at a normal level for the season and are not yet in a low water situation. Depending on the evolution of the meteorological situation in the weeks to come, it is however possible that the rivers will reach values ​​around or below the average low water flow.

As part of the work on the theme of low water levels carried out within the International Commissions for the Protection of the Rivers Moselle and Saar (Commissions internationales pour la protection de la Moselle et de la Sarre - CIPMS), a joint low water observation network for the international catchment area of ​​the Moselle and the Saar has been set up. This common network is made up of a selection of flow measurement stations selected by the various delegations.

In this context, the authorities recalled that the abstraction of water is subject to authorisation and that during times of low water, the abstraction of water from surface waters, even covered by an authorisation, is prohibited with the exception of specific cases defined by ministerial orders.