The climate crisis is a huge challenge for the water industry and for everyone who uses water. With the "National Water Strategy" and the action program it contains, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUV) is presenting a blueprint for a joint transformation, towards sustainable water management.

The National Water Strategy identifies concrete measures to be taken in the next few years, step by step, up to the year 2030. For example, the Water Resources Act (§55 WHG para. 2) is to be amended with regard to the priority of nature-based solutions for near-natural precipitation water management over sewer discharge (keyword infiltration and evaporation). The requirements and measures of precipitation water disposal on traffic routes (e.g. guidelines RiStWag and RAS-Ew), especially infiltration on green verges, are to be examined with regard to ecological aspects and their current implementation by the responsible authorities, and the guiding principle of the "water-sensitive city" is to be further developed. A future consideration of the effects of the climate crisis and a climate-adapted design of water infrastructures in existing sets of rules, standards, guidelines and regulations, e.g. for rainwater retention areas, infiltration systems, structural flood protection, dams, etc. should be emphasized. A reduction of sealing, the protection, restoration and preservation of the near-natural water balance are also components of the bundle of measures.

After an internal coordination process, the bdla has commented in detail together with the Association for Urban, Regional and State Planning (SRL). The draft of the National Water Strategy is assessed as very comprehensive, profound and multi-layered. It is expressly welcomed that the strategy bundles so many different topics relating to our water resources and transfers them into an overall coherent action program. However, in some areas this should be supported more strongly by model projects in order to make it more implementation-oriented. We fully support the content of the strategy. In detail, the fields of action for the prevention of urban water crises and the protection of the oceans should be strengthened and expanded.

Download of the draft and pdf statements of the bdla National Water Strategy (165 KB) as well as further information here.

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