In response to the continued heatwave, the lack of rainfall and the increasing demand for drinking water, the Water Management Agency has announced the activation of the vigilance phase.

This decision, taken in consultation with the country's main drinking water suppliers, aims to preserve available water reserves and ensure the population's drinking water supply in the weeks ahead.

For several weeks, Luxembourg has been experiencing high temperatures and below-average rainfall. As a result, drinking water consumption has increased significantly.

Several suppliers are now facing increased pressure on drinking water supply infrastructure. Activating the national vigilance phase for drinking water supply is a preventive measure designed to prevent the situation from deteriorating further.

Reduce non-essential water use now

To help preserve drinking water reserves, the Water Management Agency is calling on citizens, businesses and local authorities to limit non-essential uses of drinking water.

The activation of the vigilance phase reinforces the appeal issued in June to adopt everyday water-saving habits. Everyone is encouraged to use water even more responsibly, in particular by avoiding lawn watering, limiting garden watering to what is strictly necessary and to the coolest hours of the day, taking shorter showers, repairing leaks promptly and using water-intensive household appliances only when they are fully loaded.

Detailed water-saving recommendations are available atwww.waasser.lu.

Drinking water is an essential resource and must, above all, be reserved to meet the population's basic needs.

The efforts made by everyone help reduce pressure on drinking water supply infrastructure and limit the risk of more restrictive measures should the current weather conditions persist.

Municipalities and drinking water syndicates are closely monitoring the situation and implementing the necessary measures at local level.

Depending on how available water resources evolve, some municipalities may introduce mandatory restrictions through municipal by-laws. Citizens are required to comply with the instructions issued by their municipality or may face fines.

The drought and high temperatures are also affecting rivers and streams, whose water levels remain particularly low.

To protect aquatic ecosystems, the abstraction of water from rivers and surface water bodies throughout the Grand Duchy, with the exception of the Moselle and subject to any specific provisions laid down by ministerial decrees,remains prohibiteduntil further notice.

Press release by the Water Management Agency