Water supply infrastructure must be better prepared for climate change effects – industry

Extreme weather events will occur more often due to climate change – and the German water supply industry has warned that the country’s infrastructure has to be modernised to deal with these effects of global warming, writes Andreas Mihm in an article in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Heavy rainfall and floods like in 2017 and several extremely dry months, like those seen last year, would occur more often, said Martin Weyand, managing director of energy and water industry association BDEW. “In the future, prolonged periods of heat, such as in the summer of 2018, will cause demand for water to rise regionally and temporarily, putting additional strain on the piping system on peak days,” he told FAZ. The construction of new piping could require “investment support” by the government, he said.