The water suppliers in Bavaria are calling on the Free State not to prematurely give up the considerations for a drinking water dam in the Hafenlohr valley in the Spessart in Lower Franconia. “We are very surprised about the intention to remove the project from the regional planning,” says the managing director of the Association of Bavarian Energy and Water Management (VBEW), Detlef Fischer. In view of the advancing climate crisis and the increasingly frequent periods of drought, the project should at least be thoroughly examined again. “It’s quick to take it out of the plan,” says Fischer, “it takes decades to write it back in.”
Fischer points out that the increasingly frequent periods of drought are also resulting in falling groundwater levels in water-rich Bavaria. Experts have been warning for some time that water supplies could run out, at least in some regions. This includes, among other things, the low-rainfall Lower Franconia. Just recently, a commission of experts pointed out that the expansion or even new construction of dams could become necessary if the Free State wanted to guarantee a secure water supply. The idea of a dam in the Hafenlohr valley dates back to 1985. However, there were massive protests against the project, the idyllic valley is a natural jewel. 15 years ago it was agreed that the dam would no longer be pursued. Now it is to be finally deleted from the regional plan.
In addition, the VBEW demands that the Free State accelerate the designation of water protection areas. Hundreds of such procedures are pending in Bavaria. The reason is the massive resistance, especially from farmers, who fear sheer disadvantages from the water protection areas. On the other hand, the pollution of groundwater with nitrate and other pollutants from agriculture is increasing in many places. “We now have to secure the supply of drinking water,” says Fischer. “Running hectically and unstructuredly after every wave, as in the Corona crisis, leads to disaster in the water supply.” The VBEW is an association of 400 small and large energy and water suppliers in Bavaria.