Environment Ministry approves plan against drought
The Ministry of Environment has launched a new programme to deal with drought, which threatens to become a more regular feature in the future. On Tuesday, Environment Minister Richard Brabec promised to earmark 300 million crowns in subsidies to help municipalities find new sources of drinking water in villages and towns across the country.
Last year saw the driest summer in over a decade and many of the Czech Republic’s towns and villages had to take special measures to deal with the lack of drinking water, such as bans on using mains water for watering plants, filling swimming pools, or washing cars.
The new project of the Environment Ministry approved on Tuesday will focus on drilling new sources of drinking water and connecting them to the public water supply as well as on enforcing the existing water sources. The subsidies should also motivate town and villages to focus on water management and learn to use water more efficiently.
The minimum amount earmarked for one project is 100, 000 crowns and the maximum 3,000 000 crowns. Municipalities can apply for the project at the State Environmental Fund until June 30, 2017. Last summer saw record low levels of rain in the Czech Republic. The amount of precipitation was 150 millimetres, while the long-term average is 650 millimetres. Water levels in some of the country’s rivers remained below average even at the start of winter.
The Ministry of Environment has previously supported other projects dealing with drought, such as environmentally friendly measures to keep water in the landscape, smart management of water in municipalities or reconstruction of existing water plants.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry has also been taking steps to fight the lack of rain water. Earlier this year, the ministry approved investments of over one billion crowns for South Moravia, a region most affected by drought, which include measures helping soak water into the ground.
The Ministry has also selected four locations in the Czech Republic where new dams could be built in the future.
