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Dry river bed of the Rhine last March
Photo: Alexander Ludwig / picture alliance / Zoonar
The streams in Cologne are running out of water.
Now the city forbids for this summer that water is diverted from several small bodies of water in the city.
As the city announced, a general decree was issued according to which the “drawing of water from the streams that run in the Cologne city area” is prohibited from July 13th.
The measure is initially limited to October 31, but can be extended if necessary.
According to the city, people whose properties and gardens are located directly on the watercourses are particularly affected.
They are now also prohibited from taking water.
The city also pointed out that pumping water without permission is illegal anyway.
The reason given was that several streams on the right bank of the Rhine were carrying little or no water at all due to "extreme drought".
For example, the Selbach, Flehbach and Wasserbach have already dried up, and others have extremely low water levels.
Ecological damage due to low water levels
Accordingly, there is a risk of serious environmental damage if the water levels do not rise again.
According to the city, the "unregulated, unrestricted and frequent" withdrawal of water endangers the flora and fauna and the self-cleaning of the water bodies.
Due to the low water levels, the oxygen supply decreases, the water temperature increases, which ultimately damages the habitats for animals and plants.
fek/dpa