VKU calls for stricter rules on water withdrawals in Germany

The VKU justifies its demand with the pressure that climate change exerts on groundwater resources. Specht further explained: "Sauberes Wasser jederzeit, überall und zu fairen Preisen ist in unserem Land keine Kür, sondern Pflicht." "Die öffentliche Wasserversorgung muss an erster Stelle stehen."

In addition to restricting permit-free uses, the association demands greater transparency about who accesses water resources, when, and to what extent. Furthermore, the VKU demands that all water withdrawal quantities be disclosed in a comparable manner, as is already required for municipal water suppliers. In cases of competing uses, public water supply should take precedence.

VKU demands in detail

Better protection of water resources from contamination is also a key concern for the association. Specht said: "Zudem brauchen unsere Wasserressourcen endlich einen besseren Schutz vor Verschmutzungen durch Nitrat, Pestizide und weitere Schadstoffe." The VKU sees a prerequisite for greater oversight in the consistent implementation of a digital water register.

As a VKU spokesperson explained, the digital water register — in which water law permits, withdrawals, discharges, and protected areas are centrally recorded — should finally be consistently implemented in all federal states. "Dazu sollte endlich das digitale Wasserbuch in allen Bundesländern konsequent umgesetzt werden."

Existing legal options

Legally, there is already the possibility for the responsible lower water authority — i.e., the respective district or independent city — to impose use restrictions during prolonged drought. However, the VKU wants to significantly expand this framework and make it more uniform in order to avoid regionally differing regulations.

The association bases its position on a representative Civey survey conducted between June 24 and 26, polling 5,000 people. According to the survey, 64 percent of respondents said that in their daily lives — when showering, brushing their teeth, doing household chores, or in the garden — they frequently engage consciously with the topic of water. 17 percent, by contrast, said they rarely or never engage consciously with water.

Civey survey on water-saving behavior

When asked about responsibility for savings in the event of water scarcity, 60 percent of respondents spoke out in favor of distributing responsibility equally across all sectors. 16 percent each saw households alone or industry alone as being responsible. Eight percent of respondents also considered it "eher unwahrscheinlich" that they would follow official water-saving recommendations.

Specht assessed the survey as confirmation of his demand: "Die Umfrage zeigt: Die Menschen sind bereit, ihren Teil zu leisten, aber sie erwarten, dass auch Industrie und Landwirtschaft in die Pflicht genommen werden." The association sees this as a signal that politics must go beyond a mere appeal to citizens.

Outlook on the political debate

Beyond the VKU, authorities and water suppliers have also been observing declining groundwater levels in parts of Germany for several years, particularly during the summer months. Against this backdrop, the political debate about more uniform and stricter regulations on water withdrawal could gain momentum in the current legislative period. The VKU announced that it would continue to exert pressure on the federal government and the federal states to accelerate the introduction of nationwide instruments such as the digital water register.

According to its own statements, the association has not yet presented any final proposals on the exact design of the demanded restrictions — for example, blanket bans, time limits, or regionally differentiated requirements. What is clear, however, is that the drinking water supply of the population must not be displaced by other uses.