Netherlands urges EU to secure upstream water supplies

The Dutch Association of Regional Water Authorities (Unie van Waterschappen) is calling on Brussels to prevent that upstream countries will shift their water problems onto downstream neighbours, such as the Netherlands. As the country lies at the downstream end of the Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt and Ems rivers it depends heavily on water flowing from Switzerland, France, Germany and Belgium. During periods of drought, upstream countries are in a position to retain more water, potentially reducing flows to the Netherlands.

The Dutch daily newspaper Trouw reported on 13 July about the request from the Dutch Association of Regional Water Authorities Additional. In the article, Jeroen Haan, Chair of the Dutch Association of Regional Water Authorities and Chair of the Regional Water Authority of the Stichtse Rijnlanden says that agreements are needed to guarantee not only sufficient water supplies, but also water of adequate quality. “Agreements on the distribution of scarce river water across Europe are not robust enough.”

Agreements on water distribution

As drought tightens its grip on the Netherlands, Dutch water management organisations are coordinating water distribution within the country’s various river basins. The IJssel and the Waal, for example, can expect to receive agreed volumes of water from the Rhine. Through a network of weirs, dams and locks, these commitments are fulfilled as effectively as possible. Haan believes such a system should be established at the European level, although he acknowledges that it would not be straightforward.

Securing reliable water supplies

The Dutch Association of Regional Water Authorities wants the European Commission to take the lead in securing reliable water supplies. “It is about both quality and quantity,” Haan says in the daily newspaper. “A lack of water affects inland shipping, natural ecosystems and agriculture.” If upstream countries discharge the same amount of pollutants, such as PFAS compounds, into a smaller volume of water, the water flowing to the Netherlands becomes more heavily polluted. This damages ecosystems and agriculture and makes drinking water production in the Netherlands more difficult than in upstream countries.

Plea for approval rights in river basins

According to the Association of Regional Water Authorities, upstream countries should not be allowed to shift their problems onto downstream neighbours. Although river-specific agreements already exist, they are only weakly binding. This voluntary approach must be replaced with stronger commitments. According to Haan, the Netherlands is not alone in this concern. “The Netherlands is not Europe’s only delta. Spain and Portugal experience similar problems. In 2024, these countries agreed on a minimum water flow in the Tagus and Guadiana rivers through a bilateral agreement. One the Dutch proposals is to establish binding agreements on the minimum volumes of water countries can expect to receive. The Netherlands also wants every country sharing a river basin to have approval rights when another country proposes projects that could affect water availability.

International agreements on water impact plans

For example, Germany plans to fill several former lignite mines with water from the Rhine. These would become large lakes, which could provide benefits by acting as reservoirs during dry periods. “But Germany should only fill them when river flows are high”, Haan says. The Netherlands would also like to be consulted on plans to build a nuclear power plant on the Meuse in Wallonia because of its cooling water requirements, as well as on France’s proposed canal linking the Seine and the Scheldt, which is intended to create a new inland shipping route.

Action needs to be taken now

The Dutch Association of Regional Water Authorities argues that delaying action is no longer an option. As water becomes scarcer, reaching agreements on its allocation will only become more difficult. This year’s drought has brought back memories of the summer of 1976, still regarded as the driest summer ever recorded in the Netherlands, Haan says. He describes that year as a turning point. It was then that the idea of retaining water and distributing it across the country through dams, locks and weirs gained widespread support. Haan believes that the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament will be willing to strengthen European-level agreements through EU directives.