The Germans and Dutch want to develop joint anti-drought strategies for water management in the border region of Münsterland and southwestern Lower Saxony. A spokesman for the German-Dutch municipal association “Georgio” in Gronau said that the main goal of the project is to improve coordination between authorities and water associations as well as to exchange knowledge across national borders.
At its core, he said, the Drought Strategies in Water Management (DIWA) project aims to improve management to deal with periods of drought. Among other things, rainfall and groundwater measurements should also be automated. This makes, among other things, better forecasting possible. It is also planned to establish pilot projects to deal with water shortages, in addition to creating a digital guide.
The €6.5 million EU-funded project runs from 2024 to 2027. In addition to water associations from the Netherlands, the province of Gelderland and the University of Twente in Enschede, the districts of Borken and Steinfurt (North Rhine-Westphalia) are also participating) and the districts of Emsland and Grafschaft Bentheim in Lower Saxony. .
