In parts of Brabant, sprinkler water may no longer be collected from ditches, streams and canals. The Brabantse Delta water board has instituted so-called abstraction bans due to the drought of recent weeks.
The water board has imposed a ban on the irrigation of grassland in the catchment area of the Don Valley near Tilburg. A total ban has been imposed on four river basins near Etten-Leur and Bergen op Zoom.
In February there was a lot of rain in the Netherlands, but the month of March was extremely dry and there was no significant precipitation in April. The resulting low water level can cause damage to banks and quays. Animals and plants can also die in the water.
Overtaken by nature
“It is dry and that early in the year,” says director Kees de Jong of Brabantse Delta to Broadcasting Brabant† “We are introducing these extraction bans to prevent desiccation. In the winter, together with farmers and nature reserve managers, we retained the water well and for a long time, but now nature is overtaking us.”
The other Brabant water boards are closely monitoring the situation. “We now only have a temporary ban on the use of groundwater for irrigating grassland, for a small part of our area,” says a spokesperson for the Aa en Maas water board.
Also, the De Dommel water board does not yet have any extraction bans for large areas. “But there is a very good chance that they will follow later this week,” a spokesperson said.
No spraying bans apply in other parts of the Netherlands.
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