What did ZuWaKo take away from this year’s drinking water colloquium on February 15, 2024 in Stuttgart? Water availability in Baden Württemberg is currently looking quite good again. Nevertheless, adapting to possible future peak demands and simultaneous resource shortages (at least in terms of time and/or location) was a major topic at yesterday’s 36th Drinking Water Colloquium. In addition to technical solutions, it became clear that there needs to be a rethink in water use and the self-image of always having the best treated water, especially among stakeholders from society, industry and agriculture. The BW Ministry of the Environment’s Water Supply Master Plan provides initial support for this. This determines current and forecast water requirements and availability for all municipalities; an initial indication of how much and what kind of adjustments are necessary in order to be well positioned in the future. The new Drinking Water Ordinance was also presented, which requires municipalities to implement risk management in accordance with the catchment areas. Here, too, there are already databases and networks in BW that facilitate the networking of individual municipalities and the exchange of data. A DVGW working group presented very specific starting points for action: the Roadmap2030 identifies challenges for the water supply against the backdrop of climate change and recommends measures to address these in the best possible way.
All in all, it was a very exciting day with many points of reference for our work – n Modul B and beyond.
