Only the butterfly in Amsterdam is having a hard time with the drought
First the good news: Amsterdam residents do not have to worry about a shortage of drinking water, even if the drought continues for weeks.
The ongoing drought becomes so substantive that the water manager and the afternoon are made for a processing of water. Planning will not go so smoothly in Amsterdam. “Amsterdam has enough drinking water,” says a spokesperson from Waternet, “even if there is a shortage in the rest of the country.”
Water supply dunes
Waternet produces drinking water from the Lek and from the groundwater in the Bethunepolder, which is supplied continuously. As long as there is enough water through the Lek and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, Amsterdam and the surrounding area will have sufficient drinking water.
In addition, Waternet has an extra storage facility in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen. In the event of a prolonged drought, extra water can be obtained from there for up to three months, but that was not necessary even during the extreme drought in 2018.
Nor do they expect any major problems at the water boards. However, access to the Muidertrekvaart from the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal will be closed on Tuesday. This was done to protect the Naardermeer nature reserve against the intrusion of salt water.
“That’s the last one,” says a statement from the Amstel, Gooi and Vecht Water Board. “Perhaps more measures will follow. We look at that from day to day.”
emergency pumps
Those measures have not been implemented in the immediate vicinity of Amsterdam either. The verdict: “Should the water level in the Markermeer drop, emergency pumps can be turned on at Muiden. They were placed there during the drought in 2018, but in the end never started running because it suddenly started raining.”
The leaves of trees and shrubs look everywhere when autumn comes and lawns are scorched yellow. That looks like heat stress, but according to Hans Kaljee, tree expert at the municipality of Amsterdam, it is not that bad. Kaljee: “Trees and shrubs are excellent to handle from August. The new buttons for the winter have been made. some shed their leaves due to drought, but they do so to protect themselves from desiccation. Then they need to absorb less moisture.”
According to Kaljee, trees and shrubs are in the west of the Netherlands, because there is a lot of water and it sits just below the surface. Unlike, for example, the Veluwe, where the groundwater is often eight meters deep under the sand.
Kaljee: “In the Jordaan, Watergraafsmeer and Noord the groundwater is half a meter below the ground. In Nieuw-West en, which is raised more with sand, trees and shrubs thrive in Southeast or along the A10 ring road, which is even higher, but those trees will also be fine.”
Grass has an even bigger buffer. Kaljee: “Grass can be yellow for two or three weeks, but as soon as water gets on it, it turns green again. Grass even goes into a kind of dormant position during drought.”
Bad butterfly year
According to urban ecologist Remco Daalder, there is only one major victim of the drought. “It is a very annoying butterfly year. Normally at the end of June, beginning of August there are butterflies everywhere, but because of the drought and the heat the flowers are not blooming profusely, so you see them very little.”
Grasshoppers even thrive in drought, because they also eat withered leaves. Kaljee: “And birds can fly, so they will always find water somewhere. Although this is not good for them. You can see it. Then they sit with their mouths open trying to get rid of the heat.”