Red alarm level: Lower Saxony's groundwater threatens to dry!

Red alarm level: Lower Saxony's groundwater threatens to dry!

A huge problem is brewing in Lower Saxony: a current study by the federal government warns of an acute lack of groundwater in the region. It is no secret that the situation in many counties is getting worse. According to the report of ButUnunbinnen.de there is a groundwater stress in almost half of the Lower Saxony districts. It is worrying that more groundwater is removed than can regenerate naturally.

Agriculture in particular is mentioned as the main cause of this development. In addition, Land Volk President Holger Hennies expresses himself critically. It accuses the federal government of dramatization of the situation and emphasizes that the withdrawals are already subject to strict controls. Water remains the indispensable staple for agriculture. Hennies suggests creating resistance areas in order to be able to better store water in the event of heavy rain or flooding.

Environment Minister sees worrying developments

Environment Minister Christian Meyer (Greens) is alerted by the continuing drought and refers to dry spring, one of the most rainyest in decades. These climatic changes contribute to the falling groundwater quality and have rejected public conversations about water availability. A new information platform of the Lower Saxony state company for water management, coastal and nature conservation (NLWKN) is to help here, such as gwf-wasser.de reported.

Under the name "Grundwasserstandonline", the platform offers daily data over 161 representative groundwater measuring points in Lower Saxony. This initiative was launched to give the citizens: inside and decision -makers: inside a transparent overview of the groundwater situation. Information in map views, diagrams and tables should help enable a quick and well -founded decision on water use.

The meaning of such detailed information can hardly be overestimated. Increasing temperatures and the drought time of recent years require resilient data for the development of a comprehensive water master plan. NLWKN director Anne Rickmeyer emphasizes the importance of this data. "It is time to develop far -sighted measures to protect our water resources," says Rickmeyer.

Latest publications on groundwater quality

A look at the published reports shows that Lower Saxony makes extensive efforts to optimize groundwater protection. The NLWKN has prepared a number of publications on the groundwater situation that can be downloaded as PDFs. The latest volumes, which were published in 2025, contain the results of nitrogen argon examinations as well as comprehensive insights into the development of groundwater levels in recent years, as on nlwkn.niedersachsen.de

In order to master these challenges, the cooperation between farmers, environmental protection organizations and politics is essential. Hedder the longer we wait, the more difficult it is to avert the impending crises in the water sector. Lower Saxony faces an exciting but challenging time in relation to groundwater protection.