Is the federal government already sleeping through the next crisis?

Insufficient data, federal back and forth – a report on the water supply is also reminiscent of the Corona policy.

Where's the water?  The Breggia river near Mendrisio should be visible in the picture – but (almost) only a riverbed can be seen.

Where’s the water? The Breggia river near Mendrisio should be visible in the picture – but (almost) only a riverbed can be seen.

Pablo Gianinazzi / KEYSTONE/TI-PRESS / keystone-sda.ch

On these summer days, the residents of Mendrisio think twice before watering the lawn in their garden or watering their flowers. Anyone who is currently using the drinking water for other purposes faces a hefty fine of up to 10,000 francs. It is the threat of draconian punishment that brings the Ticino community into the national headlines. Local water shortages have long been a reality in Switzerland.

No watering, no inflatable pools, no washing the car – in June the authorities of the Friborg municipality of Giloux also called on their residents to use water sparingly. After a winter with little precipitation, the alarm was sounded in the Upper Valais village of St. Niklaus: The drinking water supply was threatened with collapse, it was said as early as March.

Enough water, but not when you need it

This is uncomfortable news for one of the most water-rich countries in Europe, for a society that has grown accustomed to living in abundance. Electricity shortage, gas shortage – is Switzerland now also threatened with a water shortage? The answer: a murky yes – hence the good news first.

The annual amounts of precipitation have hardly changed since measurements began almost 160 years ago, writes the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) in its report on water supply security, which the Federal Council recently approved. Even the discharge volumes in the various catchment areas are therefore only expected to decrease slightly by the year 2100.

The office of the responsible Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga (SP) indirectly admits in the report that climate protection measures will not influence the development of water volumes by the end of this century. What will change as a result of global warming is not the amount, but the seasonal shift in runoff. And that’s where the bad news begins.

Because the freezing level has been rising for decades, more rain than snow falls in winter. The amounts of snow melt away earlier and the glaciers lose their supposedly eternal ice faster in summer. According to the Bafu report, winter runoff will increase in many areas, while summer runoff will decrease. During long periods of drought in summer, the water levels of rivers, lakes and groundwater drop. And in Mendrisio and elsewhere local drinking water emergencies are then declared.

“If a state can no longer guarantee such existential needs as water or electricity supply, it loses credibility,” says Beat Rieder. The Valais Central Council of States is the source of the current report. He had already commissioned it in the summer of 2018 by postulate – against the will of the Federal Council. At the time, the government under the then Energy Minister Doris Leuthard saw no need for “another basic report”.

The new paper shows that there is a need for action, especially with regard to water management. The Bafu bluntly admits that the federal government does not have detailed information about how much water industry or agriculture needs annually. Above all, agricultural water use is likely to increasingly lead to bottlenecks and conflicting goals, because farmers also need more water during the dry season in the summer months when there is little runoff.

The Bafu now wants to fill these information gaps by examining which data could be collected with little effort and at short notice. By adapting the Water Protection Ordinance, the federal government also wants to introduce a reporting obligation in drought situations. The cantons must report to federal Berne if the problem worsens. Insufficient data, federal back and forth – the report on the water supply is also reminiscent of the Corona policy.

Prosperity or Decadence?

For Maya Graf, the recognition of the federal government comes far too late. At least on this point, the Green State Councilor agrees with her council colleague Rieder. However, the organic farmer from the Basel area draws very different conclusions from the Valais lawyer. For example, water consumption must become much more efficient. “The fact that we flush our toilets with drinking water instead of rainwater and that we need drinking water to wash our cars and spray the lawn shows how wasteful we are.” Graf also urgently calls for water management for agriculture.

Beat Rieder, on the other hand, advocates the expansion of storage capacities so that the water can be better distributed throughout the year and used multiple times – for drinking, irrigation, for industry and for energy production. When it comes to water supply, he sees Switzerland at a crossroads similar to that of the energy transition. “We have to make a decision: do we want to give in to the red-green illusions again, or do we want to solve the problems of climate change without risking Switzerland’s prosperity?”

Meanwhile, the residents of Mendrisio have to be patient. According to the weather report, it won’t rain in the south of Ticino this week either, and the temperatures won’t go below 20 degrees at night. And a car wash will cost up to 10,000 francs this summer.

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