Saving water in Central Europe

On a stroll through the city in spring 2024, passers-by are informed by large posters that “Frankfurt saves water!” (Frankfurt spart Wasser!). The appealing puns of this municipal campaign, which adorns various advertising columns in Frankfurt am Main, include Ich spar’s mir (I save it for myself), Ich dreh ab (lit. I’ll turn it off, fig. I go crazy), and Ich fang dich auf (I’ll catch you). The campaign’s website offers tips on how Frankfurt residents can save water at home, including washing fruit and vegetables in a bowl and reusing water for plants, as well as a list of water-saving household appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers – “A little bit each, a lot together.”

But why are local authorities calling on citizens to save water not only in southern Europe, where water scarcity has long been a well-known problem, but also in Central Europe, where natural disasters involving excessive quantities of water are becoming more and more frequent? Frankfurt’s Water Saving Campaign has entered its third year and was launched in reaction to the record heat and drought summers in 2018 and 2019. According to the website, "the economical and careful use of drinking water is becoming increasingly important in Germany and also in Frankfurt am Main due to climate change and the associated longer and more frequent dry periods as well as falling groundwater levels." Even extremely intensifying rainfall events do not revoke the need to prepare for ever-longer periods of drought and precarious drinking water supply.